Locarla | The UK's Social Housing Data Platform

Social Housing RMI Business Intelligence

Hello again.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been building a system that sits on our own servers and uses AI to interrogate Locarla data directly. At the moment it is trained primarily on our property and EPC datasets, but it is already capable of answering questions that would previously have required days of analysis.

This week we asked:

“How many social homes in London are recommended for solar PV installation and what is the estimated improvement cost?”

The result: 65,604 homes with an estimated improvement cost range of £331.4m to £519.4m.

And even that’s conservative – around 1.1 million social homes in England & Wales don’t have a valid EPC.

The RAG is very good at giving you exactly what you ask for:

•	Which landlords have the highest proportion of EPC E, F & G properties?
•	How many homes are recommended for cavity wall insulation?
•	Which organisations appear most exposed to future retrofit investment pressure?
•	Identify the top 10 housing associations with the greatest EPC compliance exposure based on expired, expiring within 2 years, or missing EPC records.
•	Which housing associations contain the largest repeatable property archetypes based on wall type and construction age, and how many are EPC D-G rated?

Recently we’ve started developing models such as the LRPI (Locarla Retrofit Priority Index) and DMPI (Damp & Mould Priority Index).

They are not “AI insight engines” magically producing expert conclusions. What they are doing is helping us better understand which data points are actually important when trying to analyse retrofit, damp & mould, investment pressure, or procurement risk in a meaningful way.

Anyone can pull together large volumes of housing data. The difficult bit is understanding which combinations of data genuinely matter, which indicators are misleading, and what should actually influence decision making.

At the moment, we still rely heavily on raw data and structured analysis rather than genuine sector expertise. That’s why we’ve recently started exploring bringing in specialist knowledge from experienced procurement, commercial, and operational professionals within the Repairs & Maintenance sector.

Ultimately, good answers come from combining:

•	good data
•	sensible analysis
•	and sector experience

The technology is improving quickly. But we’re also becoming increasingly aware that domain knowledge matters just as much as the data itself.

The RAG is available to all our clients on a ‘Decarbonisation & Retrofit’ licence.

And with that, we’re off!

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

Welcome, welcome, one and all.

EPC Portfolio Performance Scorecard

Retrofit analysis is no longer just about counting D-G homes.

Two organisations can have similar levels of non-compliant stock but face very different delivery challenges once you factor in conversion potential, stranded assets, indicative upgrade costs, and EPC coverage across the portfolio.

This month we’ve been experimenting with a comparative EPC scorecard using EPC data and indicative retrofit modelling to benchmark large housing association portfolios across multiple measures at once.

The scorecard highlights:

•	retrofit conversion potential
•	standard asset exposure
•	indicative upgrade costs
•	EPC lodgement coverage
•	and overall retrofit readiness

What continues to stand out in the data is that scale alone does not determine retrofit difficulty. Some large portfolios appear comparatively well-positioned for EPC C delivery, while others contain disproportionately difficult or expensive stock to upgrade.

View Full Analysis

It’s all News to me!

POLICY & REGULATION

King’s Speech outlines major cladding and social housing reforms
Government unveils plans for cladding remediation, social housing renewal, Right to Buy reform, leasehold changes and tougher late payment rules.
Source →

FUNDING & INVESTMENT

Government boosts social housing retrofit fund by £100m
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero increases Warm Homes funding to support energy-efficiency upgrades and solar installations in social housing.
Source →

Abri unveils major housing investment strategy
Abri to invest £450m into existing homes, deliver 20,000 new homes by 2036, and accelerate regeneration, EPC upgrades and building safety works.
Source →

NatWest commits £20bn to northern housing and retrofit growth
NatWest Group pledges £20bn for housing, retrofit and infrastructure projects, including a £106m package for Broadacres Housing Association.
Source →

PROCUREMENT & PIPELINE

Birmingham launches £1.85bn construction and refurbishment framework
Birmingham City Council begins market engagement for four-year framework covering construction, housing refurbishment, demolition and infrastructure works.
Source →

Portsmouth launches £144m building safety framework
Portsmouth City Council plans framework for fire safety, cladding remediation and building upgrades across higher-risk residential buildings.
Source →

Pretium and WCH launch repairs and voids framework
Pretium Frameworks and Watford Community Housing launch Maintain framework with agreed suppliers. The Improve framework (capital delivery and planned works) and Protect (compliance services) go live later this year.
Source →

DELIVERY & RETROFIT

Cardo joins L&Q’s £3bn home upgrade programme
Cardo Group joins L&Q programme to deliver major works, fire safety and energy upgrades across homes.
Source →

Mears secures £200m+ housing maintenance deal
Mears Group wins long-term contract with Moat Homes to deliver repairs and planned works across 20,000 homes.
Source →

SBS lands major PA Housing retrofit contract
Sustainable Building Services Ltd to upgrade 3,000 homes for PA Housing under major energy-efficiency programme.
Source →

Vico Homes signs £8.2m solar retrofit deal
Vico Homes partners with RPS Group to install rooftop solar panels on 2,000 homes in West Yorkshire.
Source →

Gender Pay Gap Insights

Mean gender pay gap measures the average hourly pay difference between men and women. Here, we compare social housing organisations against the sector average and highlight where men are paid more, women are paid more, or pay is closest to balance.

Show me the money!

A PDF guide to contract management on Locarla.

PROCUREMENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

This month’s tender highlights feature high-value opportunities across repairs and maintenance, planned refurbishment works, building safety, heating, electrical services, retrofit and major capital investment programmes within the UK social housing sector.

TOP OPPORTUNITIES

Pagabo – National Framework for Developer-Led Schemes – YPO
National four‑year framework for developer-led construction schemes covering development agreements, SPVs and consultancy services.

|£21.7bn|

43 Days

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