News

Social housing framework selects more digital innovations

Justin Stanton

Editor, DC+

30 January 2026

The self-testing fire door from Harmony Fire, the Novoville online environment for managing retrofit programmes and the Planarific AI tool that converts imagery into accurate 3D building models all feature on the fifth Social Housing Emerging Disruptors (SHED) framework.

The Planarific AI tool, which converts imagery into accurate 3D building models, has secured a place on the fifth Social Housing Emerging Disruptors framework. Image: Planarific.

Nearly 30 suppliers appear on the latest framework – the largest cohort since the framework was established in 2022. The framework is run by Procurement for Housing (PfH) and enables councils and housing associations to compliantly procure emerging technologies from innovators. The new framework is worth £500m over three years, up from £100m for the previous iteration.

PfH has worked again with social housing membership community, the Disruptive Innovators Network (DIN), to identify early-stage technology firms whose services solve challenges facing the sector, but which can’t be sourced easily through traditional public procurement routes.

Technology and services on the framework include:

predictive modelling to identify housing hazards and health risks from Bays Consulting;

IoT connectivity platform for estate monitoring from Database for Business – Digital Housing;

AI‑driven environmental sensors with automated interventions from Get Property Management;

the IoT‑enabled self‑testing Auro fire door from Harmony Fire;

an AI assistant for UK housing, with the latest guidance, legislation and regulation, from HousingAI;

an online reporting tool offering easy ways to interpret asset management data from Lumensol;

the Novoville Shared Works environment for managing retrofit programmes;

the Planarific AI tool that converts imagery into accurate 3D building models; and

the automated stock condition and compliance assessment service from Spotr.

SHED offers a simplified, SME-friendly bidding process and a compliant way for social landlords to test and adopt new solutions. Through a desk-based selection process, they identify the supplier that best meets their requirements, get pricing information and swiftly complete the contracting process.

Addressing a practical problem

Neil Butters, PfH operations director, said: “SHED was created to address a practical problem: housing providers needed access to emerging tech solutions, and smaller suppliers needed a route into a highly regulated market. Five generations on, the data shows that this model works. We are seeing more social landlords than ever using SHED to procure innovation, and more SMEs able to scale fresh solutions to persistent challenges such as damp and mould, building safety, digital switchover, decarbonisation, tenant wellbeing, asset management and housing supply.”

Indeed, the value of contracts awarded under SHED quadrupled in 2025 compared with 2024, according to PfH.

Annemarie Roberts, associate director and property lead at the DIN, said: “The social housing environment is more challenging than ever before, with teams dealing with many here-and-now issues, as well as trying to be ready for future challenges. Finding innovative, future-focused solutions that can be easily procured is exactly where the SHED framework can help.

“SHED 5 also supports the government’s reforms that overhaul public purchasing rules to make them simpler, more flexible and transparent and have a focus on opening up contracts to SMEs and more diverse suppliers.”

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Topics:

Procurement for Housing Social housing Social Housing Emerging Disruptors

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