Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
GMCA Offices, 1st Floor, Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street
Manchester
M1 6EU
Contact
Mrs Ruth Peck
Ruth.Peck@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 7955311148
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKD - North West (England)
Internet address(es)
Main address
http://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/
Buyer's address
http://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
GMCA 1129 Cross-Boundary Tenancy Relations Support
Reference number
DN751785
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 70331000 - Residential property services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The GMCA is seeking a supplier to develop and deliver external tenancy relations support, receiving referrals from several Greater Manchester (GM) local authorities, as part of a pilot. The service will assist tenants experiencing or at risk of harassment and illegal eviction in private rental sector (PRS) properties within the local authority areas of Bolton, Manchester and Rochdale on a year long contract starting in January 2025 - Feb 2026 with the provision to extend for 1 year to Feb 2027 ,
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £250,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKD - North West (England)
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
• Greater Manchester is experiencing a major shortage of social housing and significant rental inflation, increasing the incentives for criminal landlords to illegally evict and putting affected tenants at increased risk of homelessness and other harms. The objective of the pilot will be to test the extent to which a cross-boundary tenancy relations service in GM could
o prevent harassment and unlawful evictions of PRS tenants or support tenants making a safe return to their home.
o support improved council enforcement against landlords who harass or unlawfully evict their tenants.
o deliver improved outcomes for the wellbeing of tenants experiencing or at risk of harassment or illegal eviction
• To deliver on this objective, the supplier will work with GMCA evaluators / researchers to quantify and establish what the case is for ongoing cross-boundary tenancy relations support.
• The supplier will work flexibly to prevent illegal evictions, or support tenants’ safe return to their home, or otherwise the best outcome for the tenant e.g. where a safe return is not possible. To do so, the supplier will provide confidential, timely, expert, effective advice and support to tenants who have been referred to the service. How this is achieved will need to be flexible to the specific circumstances of each case, including both sensitive negotiation with landlords and advocacy on tenants’ behalf, in writing, electronic communication and in person, both informally and by seeking civil legal representation.
• All the while, the supplier will act as a trusted support to tenants referred, providing sensitive and personalised information, advice and support, helping them navigate and bridge the gaps within and between partner organisations and public services as necessary. In order to achieve this, the supplier will need to build strong relationship with referred tenants, for example by making home visits, and finding solutions where barriers arise. Building and maintaining effective relationships with pilot local authorities and other relevant services will also be an essential element of fulfilling this role.
• All referrals to the supplier as part of the contract will be made by the local authorities involved in the pilot. The supplier will work with the pilot local authorities to develop and refine the approach to referral, which may vary between local authorities and will need to be flexible, including referrals from officers in homelessness services and enforcement teams.
• To ensure that the pilot local authorities are properly equipped to refer to the supplier and manage unlawful eviction/harassment cases, the supplier will train relevant officers and offer expert advice to them on all aspects of harassment and illegal eviction. This will include, but not be limited to supporting relevant officers to understand the breadth of and identify cases of harassment and illegal eviction, spot early warning signs, understand the validity of eviction notices, etc. We welcome applications where added value can be provided in respect of delivering systems change both within local authority housing options and enforcement teams, but also wider public services.
• To support effective local authority enforcement, the supplier will collect, document, and report evidence of non-compliance by landlords to relevant pilot local authority enforcement officers, ensuring that data is used and stored in a safe and legally compliant way. The evidence reported will meet the needs of the local authority to bring successful civil penalties and prosecutions against criminal landlords. The supplier will work with pilot local authorities to understand their needs in this regard and develop an appropriate approach. The primary focus of this role will be reporting evidence of unlawful eviction, harassment and other forthcoming tenancy related offences contained within the Renters Rights Bill (e.g. failure to issue a tenancy agreement, attempting to use Section 21 where invalid). However, where appropriate as part of a broader case, evidence of other breaches, such as serious disrepair and other criminality will also be reported.
• With testing the concept of cross-boundary support at the heart of the pilot, the supplier will work to provide the services described to three local authorities across GM. The policies, structures, and approaches of each local authority will not be exactly alike, and – within the parameters of the services described – local authorities may have different preferred ways of working (e.g. such as time spent co-locating with council services). The supplier will take a flexible approach and accommodate local authority preferences within the constraints of the contract and budget. A particular contingency that the supplier will be required to develop an effective approach to managing will be the caseload of referrals. Referrals are likely to vary over time and by local authority, with Manchester City Council – the largest local authority in GM – likely to make the largest number of referrals. The supplier will need to work iteratively to develop an approach that offers fairness to each local authority while taking advantage of the economies of scale on offer from running a cross-boundary team.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £250,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
30 January 2025
End date
31 January 2027
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
16 December 2024
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
16 December 2024
Local time
12:00pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Court of Justice
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom