Fife families saved from mass eviction after properties bought by council

Dozens of private tenants in two Fife villages will no longer lose their homes after the council agreed to buy the properties. Some of the tenants of 26 homes in Coaltown of Wemyss and Denbeath had already been served with eviction notices by Torah Capital Ltd. The company, along with TC CAPS3 Ltd, had bought the properties from Wemyss Estates in September. The new purchase, which will be funded by Fife Council and the Scottish government, will allow tenants to remain in their homes, with the properties becoming part of the council's social housing stock. The Scottish government is providing £2m, with the remainder - which has not been disclosed - coming from the council. The council said bringing the properties into its ownership would provide long-term housing security for residents and help avoid the higher costs associated with emergency housing provision. It said that, as well as preventing homelessness, the move would also help maintain established communities, ensuring residents could stay in the areas where they lived and worked. Public meetings held by local MSP David Torrance and MP Richard Baker in January were attended by more than 80 people. Some families have been liv