In a troubling development, dozens of private tenants in the Fife villages of West Wemyss and Denbeath are facing eviction within the coming months. The new landlord, Torah Capital, has informed around 35 households that they must vacate their homes, some as soon as 22 March and others by July.
Many of these tenants have lived in their properties for decades, with some having tenancies of over 40 years. Among them is Ann Cation, a 72-year-old retired headteacher who has rented her West Wemyss home for the past 18 years. Cation, who is disabled, said she and her husband Brian, a 74-year-old retired school technician, were devastated by the news.
“We feel absolutely devastated, we’re absolutely gutted,” said Brian Cation. “We feel bitter to be evicted from our house, especially at our age. We dread to think what will happen if we are evicted, we’ve had sleepless nights since we were told last week. We thought this would be our forever home.”
Gavin Harrower, a charity worker who has lived in his three-bedroom West Wemyss house with his wife and two children for 19 years, expressed similar sentiments. “We’ve had to break the news to our children, it’s the only house they have lived in,” the 52-year-old said. “Not one of the three of us knows where we are going to go, we’re really apprehensive because we’re not all going to be rehoused by the local authority in the same area to continue with our community.”
Local MSP David Torrance said he was “really appalled” by the situation, as the Wemyss Estates had previously assured him that the residents could remain as tenants. “These families have been there for generations and some have had tenancies for over 40 years,” he said. “This many homes up for sale changes the whole demographics of a village as well. West Wemyss is a very tight community.”
Fife Council’s head of housing, John Mills, has requested an urgent meeting with Torah Capital to discuss the planned evictions and explore ways to help the affected tenants remain in their homes and prevent homelessness.