Compulsory purchase orders are being sought by Dundee City Council so it can demolish 26 flats in the West End.
Councillors agreed in private on Monday evening to pay owner occupiers of the flats at 219-245 Blackness Road for their properties.
It is understood the local authority will spend around £300,000 buying the flats they do not own if the proposal to use CPOs is approved by the Scottish Government.
The council intends to raze the buildings and replace them with modern flats and a shop because they say the stairwells are deteriorating and will soon become a risk to the public.
Former housing convener Jimmy Black said he was “mystified” why the council wants to knock down the flats.
He said: “There is no good reason to demolish these flats.
“If there wasn’t a housing crisis and there was lots of money it might be a good thing to replace them with modern flats but we are not in that position.
“The cost of doing that is far more than the cost of refurbishment. This decision has been misconceived since the beginning.”
Mr Black said he did not know why councillors opted to make their decision about the flats in private.
He said: “This should be public information. When the sales go through they will be recorded on the Scottish Land Register so it will be possible for the public to find out what they have paid.
“There is no reason that I can think of for them not to reveal the information.”
Mr Black also said tenants had not been properly consulted over the proposals to demolish the flats.
It was revealed last June the council intended to demolish the flats because of persistent problems with the stairwells, which had a maximum five-year life span before they became entirely unsafe.
At the time, some residents said they were in favour of the proposal but others were left “gutted” by the news.
In December the council was urged to “revisit” its decision to demolish the property.
At a meeting of West End Community Council, concerned residents called on the local authority to rethink the matter.
A motion to support them was unanimously backed by members. In January, it was revealed that a group of businessmen was hoping to save the housing block from demolition.
A month later, the council was accused of misleading councillors in a report recommending demolition.
Officials claimed that a majority of residents backed the plans but a freedom of information request revealed that six private landlords who do not live there had been counted as “residents”.
Eight people voted in favour of refurbishing the flats and 14 in favour of demolition, but of those 14, six were private landlords and three were owner-occupiers.
