The Department for Social Development (DSD) require Asset Consultancy Services and Associated Technical Services in order to facilitate the consideration of options for landlord arrangements as well as informing and enhancing Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) business-as-usual activity in the interim and in this respect a collateral warranty to NIHE as current landlord will be required. A critical line of business requirement also exists to determine the condition, future investment requirements and value of the public housing asset and if and when the circumstances require it, subject to the decisions of the relevant Departmental Minister and the Northern Ireland Executive, to provide collateral warranties in respect of that requirement to NIHE (or a successor or assign) as potential transferor and to potential transferee landlords and their funders. It is possible that no transfer will take place and thus there can be no guarantee of work beyond Part 1 of this contract. Alternatively transfers may take place over a number of years.

NIHE is Northern Ireland's comprehensive public housing authority. It has a wide range of landlord and non-landlord functions and it is a non-departmental public body which is monitored by the Department. This contract relates to the landlord component of the NIHE's business. In total, the organisation has some 90 000 properties under its ownership and management, the vast majority being traditional two storey terraced and semi-detached dwellings. The organisation currently spends around GBP 135 m annually (based on 2012/2013) on repairs, maintenance, adaptation and improvement activity related to the stock and its land holdings.