Purpose

This report will seek approval to proceed with the procurement outcome and award of contracts for the delivery of the Council’s Private Sector Housing (PSH) property licensing program.

The procurement is structured into two Lots:

• Lot 1: Licensing system and administrative processing services, including provision of a cloud?based SaaS platform and end?to?end application management
• Lot 2: Property inspection, reporting and compliance monitoring services, including delivery of inspection programmes and support for enforcement activity.

The report will set out the procurement evaluation outcomes, and recommendations for contract award to one or more providers.

The decision required is to:

• approve the procurement outcome;
• approve the award of contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 2;
• delegate authority (where required) for contract finalisation and mobilisation arrangements.

Decision

RESOLVED to:

1. Approve the outcome of the procurement exercise for the Private Sector Housing Property Licensing Programme.
2. Award the contract for Lot 1 – Licensing System and Administrative Processing Services to Bidder A for approximately five years ending 24 September 2031, with the estimated contract value detailed within the exempt Part B report.
3. Award the contract for Lot 2 – Property Inspection, Reporting and Compliance Monitoring Services to Bidder A for approximately five years ending 24 September 2031, with the estimated contract value detailed within the exempt Part B report.

Reasons for the decision

This decision concerns the award of contracts to support the delivery of Croydon's Property Licensing Program, including the implementation of a Selective Licensing Scheme across 14 wards, a borough-wide Additional Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and continued delivery of Mandatory HMO Licensing.

A competitive procurement exercise was undertaken through an Open Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and Contract Standing Orders. Two compliant bids were received and evaluated against published quality, social value and price criteria.

The Bidder A achieved the highest overall score for both Lots and was assessed as the Most Advantageous Tender. The award will provide specialist licensing administration, property inspection, reporting and compliance monitoring services necessary to enable the Council to implement and operate the schemes within the statutory timescales.

The schemes are expected to regulate in excess of 30,000 private rented properties across the borough and support improvements in housing standards, tenant safety, property conditions and landlord compliance. The Council has determined that delivery cannot be achieved fully in-house within the required implementation timetable due to resource and capacity constraints.

The Strategic Contracts Board considered the Award Report (reference PB-2627-0000018-A) on 7 August 2026 and agreed to recommend contract award to the Corporate Director of Housing.

Alternative options considered

As set out in the Award Report:

1.     Do Nothing – Not recommended as existing arrangements do not provide the capability required to support the proposed Selective and Additional Licensing Schemes and the current arrangement expires in October 2026.

2.     Full In-House Delivery – Not recommended as the Council does not have sufficient capacity to mobilise and operate the programme within the required timescales and would face significant recruitment and delivery risks.

3.     Competitive Procurement (Recommended Option) – A two-lot procurement approach through an Open Procedure undertaken in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. This option provides access to specialist licensing expertise, technology solutions and scalable operational capacity whilst ensuring value for money through market competition. Bidder A achieved the highest evaluation scores for both Lots and was identified as the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT).