Fife homes of families facing eviction could be taken on by council

Dozens of private homes in a small Fife community could be taken into public ownership after tenants were served with eviction letters.

Families who have had tenancies for their homes in West Wemyss and Denbeath for 40 years are among 35 households known to have been asked to move out.

The properties were recently sold by Wemyss Estate to Torah Capital. Some tenants have been asked to vacate their properties by 22 March, others have been asked to leave by July.

Fife Council's head of housing services, John Mills, told a meeting on Saturday he was exploring options to bring 30 properties into public ownership.

He added the local authority had hired an external legal service, including a junior KC.

The landlord, Torah Capital, has been contacted by BBC Scotland News for comment.

It bought the properties from Wemyss Estates in September.

Mills told BBC Scotland News: "Our first priority is to do everything we can to prevent these long-standing Wemyss Estate tenants from becoming homeless and help them remain in their homes.

"We have now successfully made contact with Torah Capital's selling agents who are the new owners of the properties to investigate options on bringing the properties into public sector ownership.

"In the meantime, we have reassured tenants that we are looking into all the legal options open to us, including potential action through the Housing and Property First Tier Tribunal.

"Hopefully this brings some comfort to people who have been adversely affected by the actions of their private landlord."

Gavin Harrower, a West Wemyss tenant, said: "Above all we are people, we're not a spreadsheet or a bank balance. We need to stand up to these corporate bullies.

"There are a lot of people who are not affected, but might be in the future."

More than 80 people turned up to the meeting in Coaltown of Wemyss village hall on Saturday, hosted by Richard Baker MP.

The leader of Fife Council, David Ross, CEO of Frontline Fife Caryn Nicholson, and Claire Baker MSP were also at the meeting.

The local authority has not ruled out formal action and stressed that affected tenants can access legal and financial advice for free.

Richard Baker said he intended to raise the issue in the House of Commons.

He said: "If these evictions go ahead in the midst of a housing crisis it will rip the heart out of these communities for profit, but we won't take this lying down.

"I believe Saturday's meeting helped to reassure affected tenants, as well as remaining Torah tenants who were not handed eviction notices, that everyone is behind them.

"This is just the start, and together we'll fight tooth and nail to protect our communities."