Procurement for Housing (PfH) has launched the Technical Support Services 2026 tender. The framework is estimated at £260 million excluding VAT and £312 million including VAT, will run nationally for four years and is divided into 11 lots covering a wide range of built environment, asset, sustainability and digital consultancy services.
If you are considering one or more PfH lots, speak to Thornton & Lowe for practical support with bid strategy, writing or independent review.
Who are Procurement for Housing (PfH)?
Established in 2004, Procurement for Housing (PfH) is a national procurement consortium dedicated to the social housing sector. PfH is supported by key sector bodies including the National Housing Federation (NHF), the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and HouseMark.
PfH members collectively manage more than 90 percent of the UK’s social housing stock, making it one of the most influential procurement organisations in the housing sector. PfH operates as a centralised procurement authority under the Procurement Act 2023, enabling its members to call off services directly from its frameworks without running their own full procurement processes.
PfH is administered by Inprova Limited, which provides integrated procurement, technology and consultancy solutions to public sector organisations.
The 11 PfH Technical Support Services lots
The live framework contains the following lots:
- Asset Management Consultancy
- Surveying & Project Management
- MEP Consultancy
- Construction Design Management and Principal Designer, including HRB and Gateway 2
- Net Zero Consultancy, including funding
- Architectural Services
- Combined Fire Consultancy Services
- Valuations
- Digital Services
- Combined Built Environment Consultancy
- Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy Services
The structure gives specialist firms a route into individual service areas while also providing broader opportunities for multidisciplinary consultancies. Lot 9 is particularly notable because it extends the framework into digital transformation, cloud and infrastructure modernisation, cyber security, responsible AI and automation, data analytics and software implementation.
The official Find a Tender notice contains the full live scope and should be read alongside the ITT documents.
Framework value and supplier model
The overall estimated value is £260 million excluding VAT. Most individual specialist lots are shown at an estimated £20 million excluding VAT, while the valuations and digital services lots are estimated at £10 million each. The combined built environment and multidisciplinary lots are each shown at £50 million.
Technical Support Services 2026 has set no maximum number of suppliers. SMEs are specifically identified as suitable, and call-offs may be awarded either with or without competition depending on the framework rules and customer requirement.
There is a maximum supplier fee of 3%, so bidders should ensure this is understood within their commercial assumptions rather than treating framework appointment and call-off pricing as separate issues.
For wider context on working with this buyer, our PfH framework guide covers Procurement for Housing and the role its agreements play across the social housing market.
How will bids be evaluated?
Framework establishment is weighted 70% quality and 30% price. That makes the quality submission commercially significant, particularly in service areas where several consultancies may be able to meet the core technical requirements.
Strong responses will need to go beyond listing professional qualifications. Bidders should connect their technical approach to the outcomes PfH members need, such as accurate asset data, programme control, building safety compliance, deliverable net zero plans, effective stakeholder management and dependable project delivery.
The unlimited supplier model should not be mistaken for automatic admission. The ITT contains legal, financial and technical participation requirements, and suppliers still need to meet the required standard for the lot or lots they select.
What evidence should suppliers prioritise?
Before drafting, build an evidence matrix for each chosen lot. Useful evidence may include:
- housing or public sector consultancy contracts of a comparable scale;
- quantified programme, cost, quality or compliance outcomes;
- mobilisation and resource management across multiple client sites;
- professional qualifications and relevant accreditations;
- examples of stakeholder engagement with residents, client teams and contractors;
- quality assurance and technical review processes;
- sustainability, social value and carbon outcomes where relevant;
- digital tools, reporting and data governance;
- lessons learned and continuous improvement.
For the combined lots, the key challenge will be showing that different disciplines operate as an integrated service rather than as a collection of disconnected teams.
Key dates
- Tender notice published: 2 September 2026
- Enquiry deadline: 30 September 2026 at 12:00pm
- Tender submission deadline: 16 October 2026 at 12:00pm
- Estimated award decision: 11 December 2026
- Framework start: 4 January 2027
- Framework end: 3 January 2031
Choose the right lots for your business
The breadth of the framework creates opportunities for both specialists and multidisciplinary consultancies, but suppliers should be selective. A credible bid in one well-evidenced lot is likely to be stronger than a broad submission that stretches beyond the organisation's proven delivery experience.
At Thornton & Lowe, we support consultancies bidding into social housing and public sector frameworks with bid planning, writing and independent review. Contact our team if you want support with the live PfH Technical Support Services 2026 tender.
