Nottingham City Council has approved the procurement of a commercial valuer to undertake Right to Buy valuations on behalf of the Council, according to a recently released delegated decision document.
The decision also includes delegating authority to the Director of Economic Development & Property to award the contract to the successful bidder following a competitive procurement process.
The Council has a statutory obligation to consider applications to purchase Council housing made under the Right to Buy Scheme.
A secure tenant of a Council residential property that uses the property as their main home and has a total of at least three years public sector tenancy in either Council or Housing Association property can make an application to purchase the home at a discounted price.
The amount of discount is based on the type of property and the length of the tenancy.
As part of the decision process, the property is inspected and valued by an independent Registered Valuer.
The independent valuation forms the basis of the offer letter which is provided to the applicant.
All costs associated with the valuations are covered by the application fee.
The Council receives approximately 600 applications a year to purchase housing under the Right to Buy Scheme. These are valuations which cannot be resourced internally.
Up until December 2021, the valuations were completed by an external provider, who has now closed their business.
An alternative provider has been found to temporarily undertake the Council’s valuation whilst the instruction is re-tendered.
The option not to outsource was considered and rejected as the Council does not have the in-house capacity to undertake these valuations within the required time limits.
The anticipated value of the tender has been exempted from publication due to potential adverse impacts on a competitive tender process and the Council’s aim to achieve best value.
The decision is subject to call in until the 20th of July, 2023. The cost of each valuation is funded from an existing budget within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), i.e., the Council’s ring-fenced landlord account. Therefore, the cost of the valuations does not impact on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
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The decision was signed by Jay Hayes, Portfolio Holder for Housing, and Sajeeda Rose, Corporate Director of Growth & City Development, on the 13th and 11th of July, 2023, respectively.
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