Delivering sustainable property licensing for vulnerable tenants across England

Our mission is to build a housing system that serves everyone. In partnership with local authorities, we're making that vision a reality by transforming private rented housing, one community at a time.

What's keeping local authorities up at night?

The UK's housing crisis has pushed millions into the private rented sector, but a significant portion of this market is failing. Over half a million properties pose an imminent risk to tenants' health and safety, meaning millions of people, including families and vulnerable individuals, live in dangerously low-quality homes.

For local authorities, tackling this issue is a monumental task. The process of introducing selective licensing schemes - a powerful tool to raise standards - is notoriously complex and resource-intensive. Councils face significant hurdles:

Evidence gathering: Proving the link between poor housing, anti-social behaviour, and poor management of the private rented sector requires robust, defensible evidence.
Fragmented data: Critical information is often siloed across different departments, making it difficult to build a cohesive case.
Demanding processes: Navigating the bureaucratic journey from initial proposal through public consultation to final cabinet approval demands specialist expertise and significant resources.

Without a clear, strategic path forward, many councils find themselves overwhelmed, and their ambitions to protect tenants are stalled before they can even begin.

How we can help:

We act as a trusted partner to local authorities, providing the UK's most experienced end-to-end delivery for property licensing schemes. We don't just offer advice; we join forces with councils to co-create and deliver robust, sustainable programmes that make a tangible difference.

Our collaborative approach is built on a unified, four-phase methodology:

Shaping the vision (feasibility): We begin by building a rock-solid foundation. We assess the evidence, benchmark data, and engage stakeholders early to shape robust scheme objectives and a compelling case for change.
Building consensus (consultation): We manage a wide-reaching, 12-week public consultation, creating clear evidence packs and communications plans. By analysing the feedback, we refine the strategy and build a powerful submission that takes into account the views of all stakeholders.
Delivering the outcome (approval): We guide councils through the final stages of cabinet approval, providing everything from demand models to enforcement plans. With a 100% success record, we ensure every scheme we support gets over the line.
Navigating the change (implementation): We drive transformation with co-designed Target Operating Models, clear milestone-based transition plans, and people strategies tailored to each council’s unique goals. Our governance support and critical challenge ensure complete readiness and confidence for go-live.

We create something new with our partners: an agile, collaborative force that delivers real-world results. As one client put it, "I felt like I was drowning, and Transform (formerly Cadence Innova) threw me a life jacket."

The difference it makes:

Our partnership empowers councils to move from a reactive to a proactive stance, identifying and resolving issues before they escalate. The results are transformative.

One council we supported inspected a property occupied by a young woman with disabilities and her two-year-old son. They found a defective boiler, no hot water, unsafe electrics, and multiple other hazards. The scheme gave them the power to intervene.

"If we did not have the Selective Licensing scheme in place, this property would not have been inspected. This vulnerable tenant did not know her rights and was too fearful to complain."

This is the power of our collective effort. By joining forces, we are not just implementing schemes; we are creating a new standard of living, making people's lives better, and building more connected, resilient communities.