The DIO is selling property deemed surplus to requirements and as a result, 47 families are concerned they will be handed eviction notices.

The Dreghorn estate neighbours the active Dreghorn Barracks and houses a mixture of military, private and council-tenanted families.

In July 2022, the DIO declared its Dreghorn properties as ‘surplus to requirement’ and informed the Scottish Government of its plans to dispose of the housing units.

As a result of this, the local authority has sought to buy back empty properties using its stock acquisitions scheme in an effort to provide more social housing.

The council had purchased 23 homes in the Dreghorn Estate as of March 2023, but this does not include properties currently occupied by the 47 campaigning families.

Earlier this week, tenants’ union Living Rent delivered a letter of demands and launched a petition to call on the council to extend its acquisitions scheme to include the additional properties and allow Dreghorn residents to stay on as tenants.

In the petition, Living Rent also asks that the council expand the tenanted acquisition policy to cover new acquisitions, not only where there are council-led capital works in mixed tenure blocks where the council also has ownership, to allow the above to happen.

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work convener Lezley Marion Cameron told Scottish Housing News: “The DIO as landlord is pursuing their own strategy for a complete exit from Dreghorn and commenced its engagement with the council at the same point as engaging with their tenants. Understandably, these circumstances are stressful for DIO tenants. To that end, our council officers and DIO representatives are currently exploring options for those remaining at Dreghorn Barracks.”

A spokesperson from the MOD said: “These properties are no longer required for defence use, and as such were sub-let as a temporary measure.

“Civilian tenants renting homes that are not required for service personnel sign up to two months’ notice to vacate. Sub-lets are always offered on a short-term basis only and cannot be considered as an alternate source of social housing.”