Letting, Management, Maintenance & Factoring for properties within Edinburgh

This Prior Information Notice provides an opportunity to engage with the Council on ideas, solutions, and proposals by completing the attached questionnaire

A full scope of services will be published as part of the procurement process.

However, to assist with feedback a summary of the requirement is set out below.

It is the Council’s expectation at the time of publishing this PIN, that the procurement will comprise of two lots:

Lot 1 - Edinburgh Living Services – Lettings, Management and Maintenance

The diagram below explains the contractual relationship between the Service Provider and the landlords, who are the LLPs. The LLPs requires a number of services in order to operate on a day-to-day basis. The six services are outlined below. The LLPs have entered into a management and maintenance agreement with the Council to supply those services. As the Council’s core business is managing social rented housing under a different tenancy regime, the Council will enter into a service Contract with a third-party Service Provider with experience in letting and managing mid-market and market rent homes. The third-party Service Provider will deliver the services to the LLPs on the Council’s behalf.

The Contract for the services required will be between the Council and the Service Provider. However, the Service Provider will be expected to engage directly with the LLP as set out in the Contract to ensure strong communication between service provider and landlord.

The management services will cover all letting services including marketing and allocating homes to tenants, arranging tenancy agreements, rent collection and arrears management, dealing with deposits, and managing the day-to-day running including the handling of complaints or queries.

The maintenance services are required to ensure that the homes are in a suitable condition prior to letting, during vacant management and during occupation by a tenant. The services include emergency, urgent, routine repairs, and any planned maintenance, such as annual gas safety checks and any other checks required by legislation. In addition, the planned maintenance will cover servicing of appliances as required.

Lot 2 - Council and Edinburgh Living Services – Factoring

Many of the Council’s existing and future developments are mixed tenure. This tenure mix could consist of social rent, mid-market rent and also homes for private sale. In order to ensure that developments are maintained from the outset and the tenure blind approach which has been taken at design and development stage is sustained, the Council has appointed Factors across a number of new-build sites.

Factoring services will be required by both the Council, Edinburgh Living and any private owners (“user groups”) on these and future mixed-tenure sites. Factors will be expected to provide a menu of services which can be accessed as relevant to each site, user group and any Deed of Conditions in place. These will include, but not be limited to landscape maintenance, bike and bin store cleaning and maintenance, plant room cleaning, gutter cleaning and other block management services as usually provided by a Factor.

As an example, on a large mixed tenure development, private owners are likely to require a full menu of services and the Council and Edinburgh Living will opt-in to landscape maintenance, bike and bin store cleaning and maintenance as well as some block management options if they cannot be provided through existing contracts or in-house.

It is the Council’s intention to procure a framework of Factors to service these sites. Additional information: If you would like any further information, please contact Kelly Faulds, Category Delivery Lead by email on [email protected]

Please see description for Lot 1.