LOCARLA

Social Housing RMI Business Intelligence & other stuff

What have I learnt this month? In Nagpur I learnt that it can hailstorm in 43 degree heat and, as I predicted, global warming and freak weather conditions are a myth with their origins in witchcraft. In Nagpur I also learnt about LLM-optimised semantic schema and metadata design. I wrote about it on LinkedIn and will continue doing so until I’m asked to leave. In a nutshell it’s about organising your data in such a way to make it easier for AI to read and analyse.
I learnt that Octopuses have 3 hearts, and 5 out of the top 10 Housing Associations with the highest % of damp & mould complaints come from London, another 3 have over 50% of their stock in London. But for Local Authorities, all 10 of the top 10 are in London.

On a personal note, I learnt that a mad night in a camper van at the Lost Vagueness festival some time ago can, if you get the chemistry right, lead to a 19th birthday sometime later.
And lastly, I met a guy who has been going to CIH Brighton for 20 years and has never been in the conference, which was impressive, but slightly odd. Hats off to the CIH crew and to Waifs & Strays who pulled off possibly the biggest conference social we have ever seen.

If you’re going to UKREiiF, so am I. Currently I’m boring people with a Social Housing Address cleaning service. We can clean any addressing issues in housing registers or asset lists, and add UPRN & EPC data. Drop me a line if you want to hear more ‑ gaz.summer@locarla.com

‘Blue links‘ for all and ‘green links‘ are behind login so dependent on your licence.

Our new and renewing clients in April, thank you so much.

PA2023 Stage 2

I bet you’re getting excited. So long as Pratik manages to stay out of hospital, the final stage of the work we are doing for PA2023 should be finished in the next couple of weeks.
It includes this bad boy of a page for ‘My Notices’. We’ve grouped and colour coded the notices so if you track one, we will attach all relevant notices from UK1 to UK15. We’ve also added a simple filter to enable you to organise the contracts in the bidding process. It’s not rocket science, just a way of keeping track of tenders you’re interested in bidding on.
We made a dreadful video on the work we did on Stage 1

It’s all News to me!

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The Regulator of Social Housing has published updated judgements for 18 social landlords. Brentwood and Broadland were rated C2 for governance, while Broadland also received G1 for viability. Islington and Shoreditch improved to G1, Richmond dropped to G2, and Poplar HARCA and Raven gained top C1/G1 ratings with V2 viability. Mid Devon and Winchester councils are under engagement, and Swindon Borough Council has failed to meet RSH consumer standards, Housing 21, Torus, and Sovereign Network Group were rated G1 for governance and C2 for consumer standards. Source: GOV.UK, GOV.UK

Orbit Group improved its liquidity through a £665m financing exercise. Source: Orbit Group. Karbon Homes added £200m to accelerate affordable home delivery. Source: Business Live. A £200m loan was issued to VIVID Housing under the UK government’s Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme. Source: IPE Real Assets. VIVID got a £50m Barclays loan to retrofit 2,000+ homes under the £1.3bn NWF scheme. Source: VIVID. Meanwhile, Bromsgrove District Housing Trust Ltd (BDHT) secured £100m in funding from NatWest to support investment in its housing portfolio. Source: HQN. MSV housing has secured £50m in sustainability-linked funding to support affordable housing. Source: TheBusinessDesk.com

Gentoo Group has launched the Gentogether partnership, securing £170m in contracts to modernise homes in Sunderland. Source: Gentoo Group. In Birmingham, a deal has been signed to deliver nearly 300 affordable homes. Source: West Midlands Combined Authority. In Sheffield, a partnership is set to deliver 2,300 homes by 2026, with Great Places Housing Group acquiring some for affordable housing. Source: The Star

Sureserve has agreed to acquire compliance rival Kinovo in a £56.4m deal to strengthen its position in the social housing sector. Source: Construction Enquirer

Construction firms accounted for 19.5% of all insolvencies in England and Wales in Feb 2025. Source: BCIS

The UK government is proposing to give families more choice over home heating upgrades while also creating up to 18,000 training opportunities for green jobs. Source: GOV.UK. By 2027, solar panels will be installed on all new-build homes as part of net-zero efforts. Source: The Guardian. However, a study found that the number of UK homes overheating has increased by 80% in the past decade. Source: The Guardian. Project managers are becoming more confident that the UK can meet its 2050 net-zero target. Source: The Construction Index, while an analysis revealed that over 12.7m homes in England will need energy upgrades to meet that goal. Source: Eurocell

The HUG Phase 2 allocated £630m to support off-gas-grid homes between Sep 2023 and March 2025. Source: GOV.UK. The SHDF supported the installation of 65,300 measures across 33,200 homes by the end of Feb 2025. Source: GOV.UK. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme received 76,291 voucher applications by March 2025, with 97% for air-source heat pumps. Source: GOV.UK. In the first quarter of 2025, 466,000 EPCs were lodged in England and Wales-a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Source: GOV.UK. Meanwhile, the GBIS delivered 70,300 measures to 55,600 households. Source: GOV.UK

As of March 2025, 5,031 residential buildings with unsafe cladding have been identified, an increase of 17 from February. Source: GOV.UK. In London, new housing starts hit a 16-year low due to delays in Gateway 2 sign-offs. Source: Housing Today. UK construction activity showed a 6% rise in planning approvals, but a 12% decrease in contract awards and a 21% drop in project starts. Source: Construction News. Construction product sales were mixed in early 2025, but growth is expected ahead. Source: Builders Merchants News. Finally, the Latest Scottish Social Housing Tender Prices showed a 4.9% decline in tender prices in Q4 2024. Source: BCIS

An international study suggests that pausing new home construction could boost social housing. Source: Housing Digital. A new AI tool could help councils meet housing targets by digitising records. Source: GOV.UK. London’s homelessness crisis has led to a £330m overspend. Source: London Councils. Supported housing faces a risk of 70,000 closures. Source: National Housing Federation

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Resident Complaints Insights: Mould and Damp Trends

Gender Pay Gap Insights

Show me the money!

A PDF guide to contract management on Locarla.

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May’s must-watch tenders spotlight a wave of bold frameworks, green upgrades, and repair revolutions, where national ambition meets neighbourhood transformation across the social housing.

Accelerating the UK’s net zero housing mission, Procure Plus Holdings Ltd has announced a £1.53bn preliminary market engagement for Framework for the Installation of Low and Zero Carbon Technologies, spanning solar PV, heat pumps, battery storage, and whole-home retrofits. Shaping the future, Brent London Borough sets the stage with a pipeline worth £750m seeking a South Kilburn Regeneration Programme to deliver 1,600 new mixed-tenure homes. Improving lives, one home at a time, Portsmouth City Council is setting the bar in housing upgrades with two major planned procurements; a £450m Term Service Contract for the Repairs & Maintenance across 17,500 homes, while a £55m Term Service Contract for the Servicing, Maintenance and Compliance (Gas, M&E and Buildings) with round-the-clock support, designed for flexibility. Anchoring long-term resilience, Moat is seeking a single provider under a £420m Property Repairs and Maintenance contract for responsive repairs, void reinstatement, and future planned works across its stock. Fueling a future of safer, smarter homes, Southern Housing launches a bold new wave of housing improvement pipeline starting with a £175m Gas Servicing and Replacements, £40m for Disrepair & Complex Repairs, £40m for Electrical Testing & Remedial Works, £12m for Fire Systems Maintenance, and £10m for Lift Modernisations, boosting standards across homes nationwide. Complementing this, Clarion Housing Group has issued a £105m Fire Safety Framework for active and passive measures across North and South England – delivered through three strategic regional lots.

Maintaining today, protecting tomorrow, The Guinness Partnership is preparing two major tenders in pipeline, a £83.3m Sub-Contractor Agreement to deliver Responsive Repairs and Void Works across 70,000 homes, and a £28m Active and Passive Fire Prevention Framework covering multi-lot fire safety services, including Waking Watch. Modernising essential interiors, Edinburgh City Council will appoint up to six contractors under a £40m Kitchens and Bathrooms Framework, targeting 500 – 1,500 upgrades per year for tenanted and void housing stock citywide. Refreshing building infrastructure, Leicester City Council is laying the groundwork for a £37.5m Hard Facilities Management Framework pipeline notice, including windows, electrics, roofing, and HVAC across its estate and some residential sites. Improving accessibility and wellbeing, Bristol City Council will launch a £22.5m Disabled Adaptations Framework, divided into four lots from minor repairs to structural conversions and domestic lift installations for tenant properties. Capping the month, South Tyneside Council is preparing a £18m preliminary market engagement for Roofing Framework across four lots targeting pitched and flat roofing upgrades for housing and community buildings. Housing 21 plans to procure a £15m tender for Installing Kitchens, Shower Rooms, and Accessories in resident homes.

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The Other League Tables

Along with our main monthly league tables, ❲see below❳, we also produce tables based on the following trades: Retrofit, Asbestos Survey, Fire Risk Assessment, Water/Legionella & Stock Condition Survey. ❲Premium Clients, click here for the PDF❳

Top of the league in each table are ….

Retrofit:

Wates Group

Asbestos Survey:

Environtec

Fire Risk Assessment:

Frankham Consultancy Group

Stock Condition Surveys:

Savills (UK)

Water / Legionella:

Aquatrust Water & Ventilation

April League Tables

Built Environment Contracts

The trades we cover; Responsive Repair, Planned Works (Kitchen/Bathrooms & Doors/Windows), Gas Servicing/Central Heating, Voids, Fire Safety & Roofing.