Waltham Forest Council's Cabinet has approved a new procurement strategy for housing repairs services, paving the way for new contracts valued at millions of pounds. The decision, made at a meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, will see the council re-tender two major partnering contracts, with a view to commencing them from the financial year 2027/28.
A Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) Repairs Partnering Contract is set to be procured for a maximum term of 15 years, with an estimated annual revenue value of £6.061 million and a capital value of £12 million. Additionally, a General Repairs Partnering Contract will be put out for tender for up to 16 years, with an estimated annual revenue of £9.763 million and a capital value of £12 million.
The council will also directly contract specialist providers for high-risk areas including roofing, damp and mould, legal disrepair, gas, asbestos, voids, and fire safety. This multi-faceted approach aims to enhance capacity and resilience, reduce contractor overheads, foster greater competition, and improve operational flexibility.
Bids for these contracts will be evaluated against several key objectives, including efficient and effective contract management, strong control over service delivery and performance, promotion of innovation, operational flexibility and resilience, achieving value for money, reliable and accurate data management, and high-quality resident engagement and customer service. The report indicates that a detailed options analysis and scoring was provided in Appendix 4 of the relevant documentation, with the two-partnership model identified as the preferred option.
These contract values are reported to be within the approved Housing Revenue Account budgets. Authority has been delegated to the Strategic Director of Place, in consultation with the Strategic Director of Resources and the Housing Portfolio Lead Member, to finalise the terms of these significant contracts. The meeting approved the commencement of the re-tendering processes for both contracts, which are anticipated to begin in the 2027/28 financial year.
Further details on the decisions made during the Cabinet meeting can be found in the Decisions 02nd-Jun-2026 14.00 Cabinet.