A NEW Fife Council Home Swap system for tenants is being launched this month.

The new system is available for council tenants through the Council’s internet site: www.fifedirect.org.uk where they can register their details to help them find another tenant who is looking to swap their home.

It means that council tenants anywhere in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area can quickly find out if there is someone they could swap with. It could, for example, help a tenant in Lochgelly looking for a smaller home by linking them up with counterpart in Kelty, searching for something bigger.

Council Home Swap will give tenants fast and easy access to find out if there are other tenants across Fife who are looking for a bigger or smaller house.

Once registered on Fife Direct, tenants can register their property information and once they have been approved to use the Scheme, can enter the details of their home and also what type of property they would like. The new system will then show any properties which match the type they are looking for.

If tenants see a property they like they can show an interest, this will automatically send an email to the other tenant to make them aware.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, the Council’s Executive Spokesperson for Housing & Building Services, said, “For our tenants, it can sometimes be very difficult when they are living in a house that is too small for their family or too big to manage as their family have grown and flown the nest. We are building new council homes, and the Home Swap site adds to the choices that tenants have when they need a transfer. So it’s definitely an improvement for customers, but this is also about the council becoming more efficient. Making this service more accessible is going to give our tenants the opportunity to try and find a home that is right for them and make best use of our current stock”.

She added, “We tested the new system during September and already have 78 tenants signed up and looking for their new home. The feedback from customers has been very positive.

“This is an important step forward in providing a better service for our tenants. We have been working on this system for a few months and I’m delighted that we’re finally able to launch this new way of working.” Mrs Morgan, is a council tenant who was one of the first to sign up and is hopeful that she will find someone who is living in a property that suits her needs and is looking for the kind of home she is living in at the moment.

She said, “I found the system very easy to use and registered my property no problem. I hope that other tenants in who are looking to swap will sign up too so that the right match will come along soon.” Registration can be carried out via the internet at www.fifedirect.org.uk (free access is availale from Local Offices and Libraries across Fife).

Our picture shows council officer Alison Hoey, and Councillor Judy Hamilton with Mrs Morgan.