Cllr Judy Hamilton

Councillors discussed a range of options to improve the lock-up service for council tenants at a meeting of Fife Council’s community and housing services committee this week.

Service Manager Greig Henderson explained: “Right now we have over 7,000 lock-ups at 687 sites across Fife. Almost 70% of these are let to tenants but their condition varies, and over the last five years we’ve spent almost £1 million on maintenance. We are also losing out on potential rental income from the lock-ups that we can’t rent out due to their condition.”

Now tenants are to be consulted on the best way forward and decisions on the future of lock-ups will be taken by the council’s area committees to make sure local needs and issues are considered.

Committee chair Cllr Judy Hamilton said: “Rents on our lock ups have been frozen for the past three years. We want our tenants to enjoy the best service possible. Lock-ups are always in high demand across Fife and it’s therefore great news that we can make this investment to improve them where they are needed most.”