Fife housing waiting list: more than 12,000 people waiting on a council home

North East Fife Liberal Democrats have called for greater investment in social housing and highlighted the problem of empty homes across Fife.

Responding to a query from Liberal Democrat group leader Jonny Tepp, Fife Council officials confirmed that the current waiting list for social housing stood at 12,091 applicants, including 1,350 applicants considered homeless. This is down from March last year when the waiting list was over 14,000 applicants.

Separately a presentation to councillors by the Fife Housing Partnership highlighted that there were 2159 empty properties in Fife, with more than 60% having been empty for more than a year.

Willie Rennie recently highlighted the issue of overcrowding in Fife social homes, with the most recent figures showing more than 2,000 were occupied by more people than they were designed to accommodate.

Cllr Jonny Tepp said: “The housing waiting list remains far too long. There are no quick fixes, but there needs to be a renewed effort to ensure that the current housing stock in Fife is utilised to its full potential, and that long-term empty houses can be put to good use. ”

North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie added: “The housing situation across Fife remains dire. I know people in North East Fife face long waits for social housing and for social housing moves.

“Despite some progress compared to last year, progress is slower than anyone would like. The Scottish Government is off-track on its house-building targets.”