A permanent enhancement is a permanent change to your property (that can’t be removed without a trace) that enhances it and therefore does not need to be removed at move out. Permitted permanent enhancements fall into two categories:  

Green Permanent Enhancements – these can be carried out by military families or a tradesperson without needing to notify Pinnacle. We’ve some top tips for families for making green permanent enhancements to their homes.  

Amber Permanent Enhancements – these require a notification to Pinnacle prior to any work being carried out. All amber permanent enhancement work must be carried out by a qualified tradesperson. 

Find out more by submitting a Permanent Enhancement notification via the Pinnacle website.  

Service families are responsible for the safe installation of all permanent enhancements. If families have any questions or are unclear of installation requirements, they should seek guidance from their Housing Officer ahead of any works being carried out. 

Families can make the below green permanent enhancements to their homes themselves (or if they prefer, they can use a qualified tradesperson): 

• Shelving installation  

• House Alarm (Wi-Fi operated alarms only e.g. Ring Doorbells) 

• Coat hooks  

• Landscaping (including flowers and shrubs) 

• Fitting of blinds and shutters  

• Fitting of curtain poles  

• Doorbells (battery powered e.g. Ring, Byron etc.) 

Families can make these permanent enhancements to their home immediately and do not need to notify DIO/Pinnacle. Details of any green permanent enhancements will be recorded by Housing Officers upon move out. 

Service families can leave green permanent enhancements in the property at point of move out providing it is of sufficient quality and in good working order.

Families can make the below amber permanent enhancements to their homes, but these must be carried out by a qualified tradesperson due to the intrusive element of the works.  

Families will need to notify DIO/Pinnacle of any amber permanent enhancements they wish to make to their home prior to work starting so they can be given the appropriate installation and safety advice and guidance. You can notify DIO/Pinnacle about this via their simple Permanent Enhancement Process. 

• Electric Vehicle Charing Point (EVCP)  

• External tap fitting  

• Broadband/phone line installation  

• Garden structures where groundwork is required (E.g. greenhouses, pergola that is ground anchored etc.) 

• Garden decking  

• New/additional patio areas  

• Installation of a new shower screen  

• External power supply 

• Installation of additional TV aerial port 

Service families are responsible for the safe installation of all permanent enhancements and should seek guidance from their Housing Officer if required ahead of any works being carried out. 

Service families can leave permanent enhancements in the property at point of move out providing it is of sufficient quality and in good working order.  

Service families do not need to notify DIO/Pinnacle about green category permanent enhancements they have made to their home.  

Due to the intrusive nature of the works, families are required to notify DIO/Pinnacle about any Amber category permanent enhancements prior to any work being carried out. This ensures they can be given the appropriate installation and safety advice and guidance. You can notify DIO/Pinnacle about this via their simple Permanent Enhancement Process. 

No, regrettably DIO/Pinnacle are unable to fund permanent enhancements to military homes as these are discretionary upgrades that are the personal choice of families. As a landlord, DIO’s remit is to provide a safe place to live and to support current maintainable asset repairs and lifecycle replacements.

Yes, any permanent enhancement can be left at point of move out providing the work is of sufficient quality, and any appropriate asset care maintenance has been completed with all evidential paperwork required.​ 

The required quality standard can be explained to you by your Housing Officer and further guidance is available on the Defence Homes website and Pinnacle website.  

No, the underlying principle of the permitted permanent enhancements is that they should enhance the home for both the family requesting the enhancement and future incoming families. Other than works being delivered to a poor quality, DIO will only remove a permitted permanent enhancement should an incoming Service family demonstrate that there is a health and safety implication to the enhancement remaining in situ.

If you have a health and safety concern regarding your home, please call the Pinnacle helpdesk on 0800 031 8628 immediately.  

Your dedicated Housing Officer is available to provide you with advice about your home including what changes are authorised as there are certain work types that are currently not permitted in your military home. These are not permitted due to them posing either a health and safety risk or a risk to the structural integrity of the property. 

Changes not permitted include but are not limited to:  

• Rendering of external walls 

• Laminating or vinyling of floors 

• Tree/hedge removal  

• CCTV  

• Electrically fitted house alarm 

• Shaver lights/sockets 

• New/upgrade of kitchen cupboards 

• Additional radiators  

• Fireplace installation/removal  

• Chimney removal  

• Installation of additional windows 

• Garage addition 

• Installation of internal ceiling fan 

• Solar panels  

• Bathroom upgrades 

• Wall mounted pergolas 

We will continue to review our position on all types of work and will update families should this change.  

If you have a health and safety concern regarding your home, please call the Pinnacle Helpdesk on 0800 031 8628 immediately. 

The Service family who chooses to install a permanent enhancement is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the enhancement for the remainder of the period of occupation in that property. Where a family inherits a permanent enhancement added by a previous occupant, this asset will already have been adopted for future maintenance by our Industry Partner. 

The contractor you instructed to carry out the work should be contacted in the first instance for repair/resolution of any faults. In the unlikely event that they are unable to help please ring the Pinnacle Helpdesk on 0800 031 8628 who will be happy to assist with any emergency rectification work.  Depending on the circumstances this may be chargeable to the Service family.

Any damage caused by the installation of a permanent enhancement will need to be rectified by the Service family and/or qualified tradesperson. Damage charges will be applied as per the existing process for any damages not rectified.  

A ‘Suitably qualified tradesperson’ is someone competent to undertake the work safely and to a good standard. For electrical work this is someone NICEIC-certified and more generally this is someone from a recognised industry body or trade association. (i.e. Checkatrade, Which Trusted Traders or Trustmark). 

An Electrical Installation Certificate is a standard document, more details and how they look can be found on the My Elec Group website: Everything You Need to Know About Electrical Installation Certificates.  

It is strongly recommended that you submit photographs of all required paperwork and certificates immediately after install to Pinnacle by emailing homeservices@pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk. This will help ensure that any paperwork is not mislaid prior to your pre-move out. If not supplied immediately after install you will need to have this available to show your Housing Officer during your Pre-Move Out Appointment.

It is strongly recommended that you submit photographs of your Certification immediately after install to Pinnacle by emailing homeservices@pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk. This will help ensure that any paperwork is not mislaid prior to moving out. If not supplied immediately after installation you will need to have this available to show your Housing Officer during your Pre-Move Out appointment.

Amber category permanent enhancements involve carrying out higher risk building works. As the landlord, DIO has a responsibility to ensure all building works within a property meet any legal requirement and building regulations. The notification enables DIO to provide the necessary guidance and advice to you prior to you instructing a contractor to carrying out works on your behalf. This reduces the chance of work needing to be rectified or even removed if not carried out to the required standard.

It would not be practical to set a limit to the number of shelves that can be installed within a property. This will depend on several factors, including the size of the property. We ask families to apply a common-sense approach. Overarching guiding principles that must be applied are that shelving must not overcrowd a wall and must be fitted in an appropriate position. For example, away from door openings and at a suitable height so they do not cause a hazard or unnecessarily restrict the placing of furniture.  

Yes, any self-funded permanent enhancement can be removed at the point of Move Out although any damage caused by removal must be repaired by the Service family or damage changes will be incurred (as per the existing damage charges process).​ It is imperative that the removal of any electrical appliances is carried out by a qualified electrician.

No, we ask that families don’t drill into walls as there is a chance that you could damage any external wall insulation. For the fitting of doorbells, these should be battery operated only (e.g. Ring, or Byron), and we ask that you fit these to your PVC door frame, use a spiral fixing into the wall or use a strong Velcro pad to stick it to woodwork. 

Wall anchored pergolas can negatively impact external wall insulation by creating thermal bridges and causing damage, particularly at the points where the pergola is attached. There is a risk that installation could lead to water ingress, which compromises the performance of insulation potentially leading to dampness, mould and structural damage.

No. Enhancements are only permitted to properties that are owned by DIO in the UK. Unfortunately, this guidance doesn’t apply to overseas, PFI or leased properties and families living in these types of property are asked to continue to follow the existing local processes for their property.