Fife Council gets housing allocations started again after lockdown

Fife Council is set to get housing allocations really moving after lockdown.

The local authority has moved from ‘urgent moves only’ to mainstream housing allocations.

It is also boosting the resources available to increase options for a range of tenants.

The council is putting an additional £150,000 to the Transfer Incentive Scheme to help tenants who want to downsize and move to a more suitable property.

The scheme is available to people who want, or need, to move home and are living in properties that could be re-used to meet the needs of others on the waiting list

The grant can also be used to provide temporary rent exemption or rent assistance to allow a move to go ahead and improve the decoration standard.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, convener of the community and housing services committee said: “Lockdown has been a difficult time for the housing service and our tenants.

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“We have kept going with a low number of urgent housing allocations. It is now time to really get moving by offering tenants the first opportunity for every empty property.

“By doing this, we can generate moves and more empty homes to help the housing list and homeless applicants.

“Although, it will take us some time to recover ground lost, I am pleased to see things getting back to as normal as we can get, in these strange and challenging times.”

> Hannah Brown is the Local Democracy Reporter for Fife & Angus

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