Award

Housing Management System

EAST LOTHIAN HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Summary of the contracting process

East Lothian Housing Association Ltd has successfully completed the procurement process for a Housing Management System (HMS) designed to integrate with its existing MyHome customer portal. The organization, located in Haddington, has awarded the contract to Designer Software Ltd, following a limited procurement method that bypassed prior publication due to the absence of competition for technical and exclusive rights reasons. The contract, valued at £280,000, was signed on 8th January 2025, with the contracting phase primarily completed in December 2024. This procurement falls under the services category and covers the delivery at East Lothian Housing Association's address in Haddington, EH41 3JL. The process ensures the software will continue to be developed and supported in alignment with the MyHome system.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specializing in software development, particularly those capable of providing bespoke integrations with existing IT systems. Companies with expertise in maintaining and developing interoperable and interactive software solutions would be highly suitable candidates for similar future opportunities. The exclusive nature of this contract, linked with Designer Software's significant control over the MyHome portal, underscores the potential for specialized firms to secure long-term and influential roles in enhancing housing management technology. This procurement highlights the importance of strong technical partnerships and exclusivity in delivering ongoing value and support for critical business systems.

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Notice Title

Housing Management System

Notice Description

East Lothian Housing Association is looking for software that can integrate with its MyHome portal, that can allow this integration to be continually developed to ensure it continues on the latest version of this system and has technical support should it have any issues.

Lot Information

Lot 1

East Lothian has bespoke API integrations with its other key IT systems as part of the MyHome offering to deliver key repairs and maintenance services to its tenants. The current MyHome customer portal has been assessed to meet the needs of the business and the organisation does not wish to seek to procure an alternative solution. We are seeking to procure a supplier than can maintain and develop the integration with the MyHome from our Housing Management, Asset and Finance databases.

Procurement Information

Competition is absent for technical reasons; and the protection of exclusive rights. ELHA use and rely upon a customer portal called the "MyHome customer portal" which is provided by a supplier called Housing Online. ELHA is procuring a contract for the provision of an HMS software system that must be interoperable, interactive and continue to be developed alongside the MyHome customer portal. ELHA's external IT consultants have advised that Designer Software has an exclusivity arrangement with Housing Online that includes a clause that allows Designer Software to veto any work that Housing Online might want to do that supports or develops its interactivity with a competitor's solution. Designer Software also has a significant shareholding in Housing Online and is capable of exercising considerable influence over its management decisions. As a consequence of this, only Designer Software's HMS solution will continue to be developed to ensure it is interoperable and interactive with the MyHome customer portal, which ELHA must use and is reliant upon. ELHA's IT external consultants have advised that that there is no reasonable alternative or substitute to contracting with Designer Software due to the exclusivity arrangements and, as there is no reasonable workaround, the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000786488
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN521307
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support


CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£280,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Jan 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Jan 20251 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
EAST LOTHIAN HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD
Contact Name
Gary Alison
Contact Email
gary.alison@elha.com
Contact Phone
+44 1620825032

Buyer Location

Locality
HADDINGTON
Postcode
EH41 3JL
Post Town
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM11 East Lothian and Midlothian
Delivery Location
TLM73 East Lothian and Midlothian

Local Authority
East Lothian
Electoral Ward
Haddington and Lammermuir
Westminster Constituency
Lothian East

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

DESIGNER SOFTWARE

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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