ARCO Compliance Reviews 2026/27 – Invitation for Expressions of Interest
ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators) is seeking an organisation or self-employed contractor with expertise in #RegulatoryCompliance to deliver our Compliance Review programme under our Chartered Trading Standards Institute Approved Code - the ARCO Consumer Code - starting in September 2026.
This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to consumer protection and standards setting in the Integrated Retirement Community (#housingwithcare) sector in the UK.
1. Introduction
ARCO invites proposals from suitably qualified organisations or self-employed contractors to deliver the Compliance Review Programme for ARCO Approved Operators. This contract will cover the 2026/27 programme, with delivery commencing on 1 September 2026 (although a period of introductory training and familiarisation could commence in July/August 2026). There is potential for the successful organisation/contractor to become a trusted supplier to ARCO in a multi-year relationship.
The Compliance Review is a core component of ARCO’s Standards & Compliance Framework. It ensures that all Approved Operators continue to meet the requirements of the ARCO Consumer Code and uphold sector‑leading standards of transparency, consumer protection, and service quality. A compliance review of one or more registered communities must be completed each year in order for the member to maintain Approved Operator status under the Consumer Code.
2. About ARCO
ARCO is the main body representing the UK Integrated Retirement Community (IRC) sector. Our mission is to promote confidence, quality, and choice for older people by:
- Setting rigorous standards
- Ensuring compliance through structured oversight
- Supporting operators to deliver high‑quality housing, services, and care
- Championing transparency and consumer protection
All ARCO Approved Operators commit to compliance with the ARCO Consumer Code, which sets out expectations relating to:
- transparency of information
- fair treatment of residents
- sales and marketing practices
- contractual clarity
- complaints handling
- service levels and resident experience.
The Consumer Code has been fully approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s Approved Code Scheme, and as such represents best practice in consumer protection. ARCO’s Standards work is overseen by the independently chaired ARCO Standard Committee.
The Code and associated guidance are designed to comply with UK consumer law and guidance including the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, as well as property sales, landlord and tenant and other relevant law and regulation.
3. Purpose of the Compliance Review Programme
Since the inception of the Consumer Code in 2015, ARCO has operated a programme of independent compliance assessments to monitor compliance and promote continuous improvement and best practice. In 2025/26 we began to transition to a new Standards programme which we believe delivers a more outcome-focused process and more streamlined member interaction which can support the sector as it grows in scale and as marketing and advertising is increasingly digitised. The appointed supplier will support ARCO in delivering a robust, independent annual review process under the ARCO Standards and Compliance Framework that:
- Assesses each Approved Operator’s compliance with the Consumer Code (as well as that of any Prospective or Provisional Members who are seeking to obtain Approved Operator status).
- Identifies good practice and areas for improvement
- Strengthens sector‑wide consistency
- Provides assurance to residents and stakeholders
- Supports continuous improvement across the IRC sector
We are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence and technology platforms to both communicate with our members and to assess documentation and online collateral. We hope to develop these further in 2026/27 and for our appointed reviewer/reviewing organisation to be able to use them to support the review process.
4. Scope of Work
This section sets out the scope of the compliance review, what material is examined, and what outputs are expected. It is important to note that this is not a “tick-box” audit exercise –we are not only assessing whether compliance has been reached against the Code standards, but also supporting our members to achieve best practice. Maintaining good relationship management is an important part of the programme.
4.1 Annual Document Review
- Sales and marketing materials, property listings and websites
- Key Facts Documents, pre-contractual information and contracts
- Policies and procedures
- Complaints records
4.2 Annual Operational Assessment
- Consumer Code service requirements
- Resident engagement mechanisms
- Move‑in and move‑out processes
4.3 Consumer Protection & Transparency
- Clarity of financial information
- Fairness of terms and conditions
- Compliance with statutory requirements
4.4 Reporting
- Annual operator‑specific reports
- Annual cross‑sector thematic report
- Annual report on Key Performance Indicators for CTSI audit of ARCO
- Recommendations for strengthening compliance
5. Deliverables
- Annual methodology and project plan
- Annual Compliance Review Reports
- Annual Consolidated Sector Report
- Annual presentation of findings
- Recommendations for continuous improvement
6. What we are looking for:
We are looking for an organisation or self-employed contractor that can demonstrate:
- Experience in compliance, auditing or regulatory assessment
- High level of knowledge and understanding of UK consumer law and guidance and advertising/marketing standards, preferably in the housing, property and/or care sectors;
- Ability to conduct objective, evidence‑based assessments;
- Experience with membership bodies or regulated sectors;
- Capacity to deliver an annual programme and flexibility to do this alongside other commitments, throughout the contract period;
- Strong quality assurance, confidentiality and data protection processes;
- Independence from ARCO and its members and absence of other conflicts of interest
7. Format for expressions of interest:
Please provide us with information including:
- Company or contractor overview
- How you meet the criteria in section 5, above
- Team structure and CVs
- Quality assurance, confidentiality and data protection arrangements
- 2 client testimonials, or equivalent
- Your proposed day rate for this project.
We anticipate that this contract will be awarded on a day rate basis, up to a maximum cap of approximately 60 days, delivered flexibly through the ARCO Standards year (1 September 2026-31 August 2027).
9. Timelines
- Request for EOI issued: 12 May 2026
- Submission deadline: 2 June 2026 at 16.00
- Consideration of submissions and initial conversations with suppliers: 3 June – 10 June 2026
- Submission of formal proposals following initial conversations: 24 June 2026 at 16.00
- Proposed decision date: 8 July 2026
- Programme commencement: 1 September 2026 (with possible early training/familiarisation period in July/August 2026)
- First annual review cycle: 1 September 2026/ 31 August 2027
10. Submission Instructions
Submit expressions of interest electronically in Microsoft Word and/or PDF format only to:
John Hesford, Head of Compliance, ARCO – Associated Retirement Community Operators via consumercode@arcouk.org . Please send any queries on the process to this email address.
Reference: “ARCO Annual Compliance Review Programme – EOI submission”
11. Terms and Conditions
ARCO reserves the right to:
- Reject any or all expressions of interest or submissions
- Request additional information
- Adjust the scope
- Not award a contract
All information provided will be treated as confidential in accordance with ARCO’s Privacy policy.
