Homefinder UK

What Homefinder UK does

Homefinder UK is a non-profit national housing mobility scheme operated by Home Connections, a London-based boutique software enterprise in the UK social housing sector. Founded in 2013 and operating with approximately eight staff from its North Road headquarters, the scheme helps homeless households and other social housing applicants find permanent accommodation outside their local area. It serves a two-sided constituency: local authorities and housing associations seeking to reduce temporary accommodation costs and relieve housing waiting lists, and individual applicants facing homelessness, domestic abuse, overcrowding, accessibility needs, or Section 21 eviction.

The platform is built on the Home Connections choice-based lettings technology stack, providing a national property search engine, a personalised case management service delivered by DBS-checked case managers, applicant verification integration, and the Hope-HRA housing management software used by member organisations. Around the core platform, Homefinder UK has assembled a portfolio of verticalized channels: Revive and Revive Scotland (specialist relocation for domestic abuse survivors), Accessible NOW (wheelchair-accessible properties), the Private Rented Sector Channel (private rentals at Local Housing Allowance rates), House Exchange (mutual exchanges), and a Retirement/Sheltered housing search. The organization maintains a database of 30,000+ vetted applicants and reports more than 1,800 households rehoused since inception, with a sub-1% tenancy failure rate.

The business model is subscription-based: 50+ member local authorities and housing associations pay recurring membership fees for access to the scheme, the applicant database, case management support, unlimited moves at a fixed cost, regular reporting, and participation in a quarterly Steering Group. The service is free to eligible applicants. No external funding rounds, venture capital, or private equity backing is disclosed. Strategic positioning is reinforced by annual Impact Reports and the Moving Forward Index, which document £3m+ in annual temporary-accommodation savings and 67% of relocated households reporting improved life outcomes.

Name

Homefinder UK

Legal name

Home Connections / Homefinder UK

Website

https://homefinderuk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Homefinder UK is a non-profit national housing mobility scheme, operated by Home Connections, that helps homeless households and other social housing applicants find permanent housing outside their local area through a network of 50+ member local authorities and housing associations across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Housing Mobility Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229), Community Housing Services (62422), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Social housing mobility
• Housing relocation services
• Homelessness case management
• Domestic abuse housing
• Social housing lettings

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership/Partnership Fees: Homefinder UK is described as a non-profit national housing mobility scheme. Revenue appears to be generated through partnerships with local authorities and housing associations who pay for access to the scheme's applicant database and case management services. The service is free for applicants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Homefinder UK is a non-profit national housing mobility scheme that helps homeless households and other social housing applicants find permanent accommodation outside their local area. The service connects eligible applicants with council and housing association properties across the UK through a choice-based lettings platform and personalised case management, with support delivered by DBS-checked staff and funded through membership fees paid by 50+ member local authorities and housing associations.

Product overview

Homefinder UK is a non-profit national housing mobility scheme operated by Home Connections. The core platform enables homeless households and social housing applicants to find permanent accommodation outside their local area through partnerships with 50+ local authorities and housing associations. The product portfolio consists of the core Homefinder UK platform complemented by specialist service channels: Revive and Revive Scotland (domestic abuse relocation), Accessible NOW (wheelchair accessible properties), Private Rented Sector Channel (affordable private rentals), and House Exchange (mutual exchanges). Additional services include personalised Case Management support, Hope-HRA software for member organisations, and retirement/sheltered housing search for applicants aged 55+. The platform also publishes the annual Moving Forward Index providing research on voluntary out-of-borough rehousing outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Revive: Specialist service for domestic abuse survivors seeking safe relocation housing
• Revive Scotland
• Accessible NOW
• Private Rented Sector channel

Products and services

• Homefinder UK Core Scheme National housing mobility scheme that helps homeless households and social housing applicants find permanent accommodation outside their local area. The platform connects applicants with council and housing association properties across the UK through a choice-based lettings system, with personalised case management support. Free for eligible applicants of member organisations.
• Revive (England)

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% of respondents report improved life outcomes after relocation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Home ConnectionscoreTechnology or IntegrationHomefinder UK is a service provided by Home Connections, a boutique software enterprise at the forefront of technology innovations within the social housing sector. Home Connections provides the technology platform powering the service.
• 50+ Local Authorities (Nationwide)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 50 local authority members in the national network sharing best practices, referring applicants, and benefiting from reduced temporary accommodation costs through quarterly Steering Group participation.
• 50+ Housing Associations (Nationwide)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing association members advertise hard-to-let properties to a database of 30,000+ vetted applicants willing to relocate. Benefits include unlimited moves for one fixed cost and reduced void periods.
• StreetLinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with StreetLink enabling members of the public to connect people sleeping rough to local outreach teams. StreetLink has enabled over 219,000 alerts across England and Wales.
• Barking and Dagenham CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaved over £550,000 on temporary accommodation costs by rehousing 80+ homeless individuals. Active participant achieving quick progress through rigorous Homeless Assessment combined with honest applicant conversations.
• Waltham Forest CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAchieved 60 moves through Homefinder UK. Positive feedback on case manager professionalism and care in complex relocation cases.
• Southwark CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAchieved 33 moves including long-distance relocations to Mansfield and Middlesborough. Active member sharing success stories of applicant gratitude.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Homeless Link: National membership body for organisations working with people experiencing homelessness in England. Comparable as an ecosystem participant supporting the same member organisations as Homefinder UK but focused on best practice, training, and advocacy rather than direct service delivery.
• Peabody: Large UK housing association and a Homefinder UK member/partner. Comparable as a customer of Homefinder UK services rather than a direct competitor, providing scale context for the housing association ecosystem the scheme serves.

Emerging players

• Depaul UK: UK charity supporting people experiencing homelessness and poverty, including housing programs for vulnerable young people and adults. Operates in adjacent homelessness services space with overlap in supported housing placement.

Broad incumbents

• Shelter: Major UK housing and homelessness charity providing advice, advocacy, and services across the homelessness ecosystem. Operates broadly in the same social purpose space but focuses on advice/advocacy rather than housing mobility matching.
• Crisis UK: National charity for people experiencing homelessness, offering housing, education, and employment support. Comparable as a major UK homelessness organization but operating across broader services rather than the mobility/matching focus of Homefinder UK.
• Centrepoint: UK charity providing accommodation and support to homeless young people aged 16-25. Comparable as a homelessness-focused nonprofit but specialised on youth rather than the broad social housing mobility scope of Homefinder UK.

Direct peers

• HomeSwapper: UK mutual exchange platform for social housing tenants, similar to Homefinder UK's House Exchange module. Both facilitate tenant-to-tenant property swaps across housing associations nationwide to address housing mismatch.
• Home Connections: Parent organisation and technology provider that operates Homefinder UK. Home Connections provides the choice-based lettings platform powering the service, making it the most directly comparable entity — both operationally and technologically.
• Property Pool Plus: Choice-based lettings scheme covering multiple West Midlands and surrounding local authorities. Directly comparable as a sub-national housing mobility/allocation scheme serving homeless and social housing applicants across member councils.
• Locata: UK housing allocation software provider used by local authorities for choice-based lettings, similar to the Home Connections platform underlying Homefinder UK. Operates in the same social housing allocation technology category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/homefinderuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3ViU2XIttjznCQm-zVc5ag
• Facebookfacebook.com/homefinderuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/homefinder-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Homefinder UK