The Social Sector
Welcome to our social housing page, dedicated to social landlords and registered providers, Local Authorities, charities, and law firms representing organisations or tenants in the social housing sector.We are social housing through and through and, with our collective decades spent in the sector, we know very well that practical experience is essential to knowing how the sector operates, grasping the challenges the sector faces, and understanding the rapid evolution of the sector particularly in the last few years and years to come. We offer a range of services, but our speciality is in services specifically crafted for organisations working in the sector. This page tells you everything you need to know about what we do, who we are, and how we can help you. Our unique imprint on the sector
We are a small business with deep values, and our philosophy is about delivering exceptional quality with integrity. Our commitment to ethical practice, and choosing not to run our business with a profit-dominated attitude, aligns us well with the non-profit organisations serving the social housing sector. We offer client protection and assurance like you won’t find elsewhere, including our value for money price modelling for social organisations and businesses representing the sector. We exclusively use RICS Chartered Surveyors for building and surveying services, and our team is individually decorated with qualifications, accreditations and professional memberships that hold us to the highest of standards. Our experience spans the housing, property and construction industry, and includes years of award-winning practice in the social sector at operational, strategic and Board level, and in small up to G15 organisations. We operate in all London boroughs and across parts of the East and Southeast England. We’re used to working in a diversity of environments, ranging from built up cities with high rise buildings, towns with primarily mid or low rise blocks and street properties, and more rural areas with lower density of stock and different complexities. We understand the uniqueness of each stock portfolio and we’ve got you covered, whether it’s defects in your new builds, damp in your basement flats, issues arising with older buildings, or conservation area restrictions on historic buildings.You’ll find everything you need to know about us throughout this page, and eight reasons why you’ll want to choose us here. But first, take a look below at our specialist services. If you want to talk anything through, just get in touch with us and we’re happy to help you. 
Our specialist services
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Housing Disrepair
We specialise in housing disrepair, and have developed a unique method exclusively for registered housing providers, social landlords, and legal firms representing landlords or tenants, to effectively respond to and resolve housing disrepair.
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Building surveying
Our buildings and surveying service covers all elements of building surveying and investigation, including stock condition surveys, property inspections, and building pathology and providing forensic reports to property and building owners.
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Fire door compliance checks
Our Dip FD and RICS Chartered Surveyors are members of the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, and qualified and experienced in completing fire door checks. We help building owners and managers achieve and maintain compliance.
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Disabled adaptations and home redesign
We have extensive experience of managing disabled adaptations and home redesign to make the property suitable for the tenant or homeowner. Our experience includes working for local authority and social sector clients.
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Defect detection
We specialise in defect detection, managing even the most complex defects. Whether it is a new build still in its defects period, or an older building with defects proving hard to diagnose, we can help identify the issue and get you on track with the right course of remedial action.
Our Services in full
We specialise in planning consultation services, architectural drawings, and property and interior design for both individual and commercial clients. Whether you need help designing the layout of your property, navigating the planning permission process, or creating stunning interior spaces, we are here to bring your vision to life.
Let us help protect you and your assets. As experts in building pathology, and with our years of experience in the private, commercial and social housing sector, we can support you in navigating the challenges around disrepair, defects, legal and safety risks, party wall matters, and general building and property investigation.
We offer tailored project management, consultancy and advice, and professional mentoring services to help you and your business thrive in today's challenging landscape. Whether you need support to deliver a project, assistance with strategic planning, risk management, or professional development, we’re here to help.
Why you want to choose us
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We're a small business with deep values, and we pride ourselves on our ethical mind, high standards, and on the first class experience our clients receive. We are people orientated, and your customers and residents are in safe hands. Take a look at our philosophy, our story, including why we chose the name Rare, and see how deeply our values and integrity are rooted into our business.
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Our results are rooted in our mission and philosophy; to deliver quality with integrity, and for clients to love the results they get with us. And we deliver. Take a look at our portfolio, including client testimonials, high satisfaction ratings and feedback.
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Our professional standards are exceptionally high. We adhere to all relevant laws and regulation as standard, but as a business committed to ethical practice and in recognition of the valued work we do with registered housing providers, local authorities, and charities, we voluntarily align ourselves with their principles when working with them and their customers. We developed our own set of professional standards that go the extra mile in ethical and quality delivery, we hold DAHA affiliate membership, and client assurance and protection like you won't find elsewhere.
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Our team of experts are all decorated with qualifications, accreditations and professional memberships that hold us to the highest of standards. Complementing this is our decades of practical experience, which span the breadth of the property, construction and housing industry. These include years of award-winning practice in the commercial, private and social housing sub-sectors at operational, strategic and Board level, including small, medium, large and G15 Housing Associations. Take a look at our portfolio and our credentials for more detail and assurance.
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We care deeply about the impact we have, whether it is the results we deliver our clients, how we give back to our sector, how we pay it forward to our communities, and how we make sure we leave the world better than we found it. We are committed to making a positive social and environmental impact and this is woven into our business model. Read more about how we achieve this here.
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We do not follow a traditional, profit-dominated business model, and we offer client protection and assurance beyond anything we’ve seen elsewhere. This includes loyalty packages for our clients, and whether you’re an individual person who doesn’t know much about property, or a large company turning a profit, we don’t take advantage of anyone coming to us for help. Take a look at our protection and assurance for more information.
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We know that, as well as the legal challenges of disrepair, reputational impact is a current issue for social landlords. When we are instructed to work on your behalf, we represent your brand and we take this seriously. We are exceptionally professional, and our work for you will always be done in a way that preserves this. We will never share our findings or discuss matters in or around the property, and our reports or any documents and information we share with you will be written professionally, evidence-based, and suitable for legal proceedings, subject access requests, or other potential viewing.
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When you choose us, you also choose to support our Foundation. In doing so, you support domestic abuse survivors, people who have fallen victim to rogue contractors in the property and construction industry, and people in financial hardship who need to help with disabled adaptations and home design solutions for a better life. You also support our professional mentoring programme for underrepresented groups in the sector. Read all about our Rare Foundation, which is funded solely using our own money, here.
Everything you need to know in one place
Our journey began as a small group of experts who shared a passion. Read our story, including why we chose our name, to discover what makes us who we are.
At the heart of our philosophy lies a deep commitment to integrity and ethics, exceptional quality, and an unwavering focus on our clients.
Our services include design and planning, buildings and surveying, and consultancy, project management and mentoring, with each service tailored to your needs.
Our unparalleled collection of skills and experience includes award-winning industry practice. Read more to see why we are the best at what we do.
Delve into our portfolio, and immerse yourself in our world of creativity. Take a tour through our gallery of transformational results, case studies and client testimonials.
As a business committed to ethical practice, we have developed a set of professional standards to hold ourselves accountable to, and to offer complete assurance to our clients.
View our map to see our main areas of coverage, though our virtual services are UK-wide.
Our services are bespoke to the needs of our clients, and each job is priced individually. Request a quote, or read more about our pricing, including loyalty discounts, protection and how to pay.
Get in Touch
Have a question or project in mind? Want a personalised quote or consultation? Share a few details and let's start the conversation. We're excited to connect with you!