Guide · Procurement
Procuring emergency relocation accommodation.
For council and housing association buyers: the compliant routes, the evaluation criteria that actually predict delivery, and the evidence your audit file needs.
Emergency relocation accommodation gets bought in one of three ways: direct award under a documented urgency justification, call-off from an established framework, or a competitive procedure for a contracted programme. The route matters less than the evidence trail and the evaluation — which must weigh response capability, suitability and governance, not room rate alone.
- Council procurement teams
- Housing association buyers
- Category managers
- Emergency planners
The three buying routes
Direct award under urgency
For genuine emergencies. Document the justification at the time, keep every quote and decision, and convert to a contracted route once the incident stabilises.
Framework call-off
Jigsaw Conferences Ltd is one of four appointed suppliers on the PfH Temporary Accommodation & Decant Managed Services framework (FTS 2023/S 000-012741, live to 23 July 2027) — a pre-tendered, compliant route for housing associations, local authorities and ALMOs via direct award or mini-competition.
Competitive procedure for a programme
For recurring or programme-level spend: a weighted evaluation across response, suitability, governance, reporting and value.
Evaluation criteria that predict delivery
The cheapest nightly rate is a poor predictor of total programme cost. Placements that break down get re-bought; unsuitable placements generate complaints and re-placements; suppliers without extension governance let overruns accumulate silently. Evaluate the capability that controls whole-programme cost:
Response capability
Evidenced ability to place multiple households out of hours — not a marketing claim, a delivery record.
Suitability methodology
A written framework for matching households — accessibility, schools, safeguarding — with evidence per decision.
Reporting and audit
Weekly cost visibility per live case, one case file per household, consolidated invoicing.
Extension governance
A defined protocol for overruns: who approves, on what evidence, at what cost visibility.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Procurement regimes and homelessness duties are devolved, and thresholds and procedures differ across the four nations. Housing associations in Scotland procuring temporary accommodation, for example, operate under Scottish procurement legislation and distinct homelessness duties. The evaluation logic on this page applies UK-wide; the compliant route should be confirmed against the regime you operate under, with your procurement team or legal advisers.
What contracted capability delivers
Two published examples of what pre-contracted emergency and programme capability looks like when the incident lands:
14 households, under 24 hours
Manchester escape-of-water decant — placed inside a day because the route already existed.
Read the case study →
60 key workers, 3 cities
NHS programme procurement done well — consolidated cost-centre billing across cities.
Read the case study →
Historical delivered outcomes from specific cases — not universal service guarantees or published SLA commitments.
Related pages
Procurement Centre
How procurement teams engage Jigsaw.
Housing Procurement Academy
The full buyer education programme.
Procurement handbook
The long-form buyer handbook.
ProcurePublic framework route
A pre-tendered compliant route.
Public sector decant accommodation
The managed programme service.
Readiness assessment (free)
Twenty questions, traffic-light report.
Frequently asked questions
Can we direct-award emergency relocation accommodation?
Urgency routes exist precisely for genuine emergencies — the key is a documented justification and a complete evidence trail. The urgency justifies the route; the audit file defends it. For recurring spend, a framework or contracted programme is the stronger position.
What should the evaluation weigh besides room rate?
Response capability, suitability methodology, welfare and safeguarding practice, reporting and audit quality, extension governance and financial consolidation. Room rate without placement quality is how B&B bills and breakdown re-placements happen.
Do procurement rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Yes — the devolved administrations operate their own procurement regimes and thresholds, and homelessness duties also differ. The buying logic on this page holds across the UK, but the compliant route should be confirmed against the regime you operate under.
What does a contracted programme change in practice?
Pre-agreed rates, a known activation route at any hour, defined reporting, and consolidated invoicing. The first 48 hours of an incident are spent placing households instead of finding a supplier.
Talk to the team that runs the accommodation side, so your team can run the programme.
Last reviewed: August 2026 · Jigsaw Conferences Ltd