How to apply for an extra care housing tender
Extra care housing is housing with care, where people have their own tenancy and an on-site care team is available around the clock. Councils tender the on-site care contract for a named scheme or a framework of schemes. You pass a selection stage, then score on responsive support, outcomes, tenancy rights and 24-hour cover. We check you qualify for free before you start.
How extra care is bought
Councils usually tender the care and support for a specific extra care scheme, or a framework covering several schemes, separately from the housing itself. The provider runs the on-site team while a housing provider or registered social landlord holds the tenancies and the building. Contracts often combine planned support with a responsive on-call service for the whole scheme, so your model has to cover both predictable visits and emergencies. Tenders are advertised on the council portal, often ProContract or Due North, and on Find a Tender above the value threshold.
The on-site care contract and how it is structured
The contract is usually for a fixed on-site presence, a core staffing team available around the clock, plus commissioned hours of planned support for individuals. You are buying into a single building or cluster, so the staffing model is tighter and more interdependent than dispersed home care. Expect the specification to set out the scheme size, the expected mix of need, and the response standard for emergencies. Understanding how the fixed core team and the variable individual hours fit together is essential, because it drives both your costing and how you answer the responsiveness questions.
Separating care from the tenancy
As with supported living, extra care rests on each person holding their own tenancy, separate from their care. Commissioners look at how you protect tenancy rights, keep the line between landlord and provider clear, and make sure support flexes with need without threatening anyone's home. Show how you work alongside the housing provider without blurring roles, how you handle a change in someone's needs, and how you avoid drifting into a care-home model. Writing the bid as if you run the building, rather than the on-site care, is a frequent and costly misunderstanding.
What the quality questions cover
Expect scored questions on 24-hour responsive cover, promoting independence and outcomes, how care fits around a person's tenancy and choices, falls and emergency response on site, and working with the housing provider and wider community. Commissioners want to see how you balance a fixed on-site team against fluctuating individual needs, and how you keep the scheme safe overnight without overstaffing it by day. Named staffing models, real response times and a worked example of handling an on-site emergency score; general reassurance does not.
Social value, mobilisation and submission
Social value is scored and contractual, often 10 to 30% and mapped to National TOMs, so commit to specific local actions such as community activities at the scheme, local recruitment and real Living Wage roles, then say how you will measure them. Where the contract transfers from another provider, TUPE usually applies, so include a realistic mobilisation and staff-transfer plan. Submit through the portal in the exact format requested and ahead of the deadline, attaching every policy on the checklist. A clean submission protects the marks your responsiveness and outcomes answers have already earned.
Common pitfalls
The usual misses are writing it like a care home, weak on-call and emergency-response detail, and blurring the line between the care contract and the tenancy. Underestimating the overnight cover model, thin social value and an unrealistic mobilisation plan also cost places. Our supported living tender writing page shows how we keep the bid anchored to outcomes and rights, mirroring the scoring so your responsiveness and independence evidence is read first.
Who does what in an extra care scheme
Extra care splits cleanly between housing and care. Knowing your role keeps the bid accurate.
| Role | Held by | What the tender covers |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy and building | Housing provider or registered social landlord | Not usually part of the care tender |
| On-site care team | The care provider you are bidding to be | Core 24-hour staffing and response |
| Planned individual support | The care provider | Commissioned hours per resident |
| Emergency on-call | The care provider | Scheme-wide responsive cover and falls response |
Not sure if you qualify for a tender? We check it for free, before you pay anything, and we only take bids we believe you can win. See our supported living tender writing or text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
Is extra care housing the same as supported living?
They overlap but differ. Both keep the tenancy separate from the care, but extra care is typically a single scheme with around-the-clock on-site cover, while supported living is often more dispersed. We explain how your target tender is structured in a free eligibility check.
Do I provide the housing as well as the care?
Usually not. The council tenders the on-site care and support, while a housing provider holds the tenancies and the building. We confirm what your target scheme expects before you write.
How is 24-hour cover scored?
Commissioners want a realistic core staffing model that keeps the scheme safe overnight without overstaffing by day, plus clear response times for falls and emergencies. We build this from how your service actually staffs a scheme.
Does TUPE apply to extra care contracts?
Often, yes. When the on-site care transfers from another provider, TUPE generally moves the existing team to you on their current terms. Tenders frequently score your mobilisation and transfer plan, so we build a realistic one with you.
How do I avoid writing it like a care home?
Keep the bid anchored to tenancy rights, independence and outcomes, and to your role running the on-site care rather than the building. Treating residents as if they live in a home you manage is a common, costly error. We keep the language correct throughout.
What does the first tender cost?
£795 for your first tender. We only take bids we believe you can win, hold a 96% win rate, and rewrite free if a loss is clearly down to our writing error.
Keep reading
Service
Supported living tender writing
Supported living framework application
Learning disability framework application
What is a DPS in care
Browse all care tender guides, or see care tender writing by service.
Got a tender to check?
Text TENDER to +44 7822 030677and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny.