A Cupar man has called for an overhaul of how local authority housing is allocated amid fears that some pensioners have jumped up the pecking order after selling their own properties.
George Brown has branded Fife Council’s current system a “joke” after being approached by dozens of people in recent weeks who claim they cannot get a home in the town due to the number of older people who have effectively downsized after making a profit.
Mr Brown first raised the issue in a letter to local press in November and he said he has been inundated with similar stories from people at his local church who share his concerns.
“We have lots of families or single parents in private lets or cramped accommodation and a large number of people on the homeless list, yet they are allowing people who own houses and then are selling them because they can’t manage the stairs or have other health problems to be given council bungalows within weeks,” he said.
“People are telling me that they have heard of people who are retired who own their own house and they are selling up, making anything from £100,000 to £200,000, and then being allocated a council house – not just any, but in most cases in the street they choose.”
Mr Brown said he had heard from at least 40 people who had highlighted their concerns about the situation after his interjection into the debate, and he has called on Fife Council to look again at the issue.
“I was unaware of just how many have done this over the years and if it is allowed to continue the likes of my son and grandchildren will have no chance of getting housed,” he commented.
“If this continues the whole council house system will be at a standstill because there are lots of tenants who are on their own in three-bedroom homes, who should be told to downsize to accommodate the families waiting for the houses.”
“I am not totally blaming the ones who have sold up to increase their pension pot, but what state would Fife Council housing be in if every private house owner were to sell up and ask for a council house, which they are entitled to do?
“If you give to some, you must give to the others.”
However, John Mills, head of housing services at Fife Council, said that the current housing law in Scotland does not allow the council to take account of a housing applicant’s level of income or home ownership status in allocating housing.
And he conceded: “If an owner-occupier has a significant housing need, usually medical priority, the council needs to meet that need.
“The law will change in 2017 due to a national review of allocations rules and new legislation.”