'We've been waiting for seven years to get new city home'

A FAMILY-of-three have spent seven years waiting to get a council house – as new figures reveal that 154 people are chasing every one that becomes available.

Single mother Fiona Partington, 29, first joined the council's waiting list for a three-bedroom house in 2002 – and is still on it.

The shortage of affordable housing in the city means that she is having to struggle to pay the rent for a two-bedroom private flat on Calder Drive – where children Daniella, 11, and Jayzen, nine, have to share a room.

And she said the situation is even more urgent because Jayzen is registered as disabled with a rare illness called global development delay, where all areas of the body and mind develop slower than in other children.

New figures show Ms Partington is battling with tens of thousands of other families trying to get a council or social housing landlord.

At the end of June, there were 26,016 people on the council's EdIndex waiting list, while each house that does become available attracts an average of 142 bids.

Ms Partington, who is currently living off benefits but recently completed an HND in accountancy and intends to study the subject at Napier, said her son desperately needs his own space because of the illness.

"I feel incredibly let down," she said. "When I see what other people are getting it feels a bit like I'm slipping through the cracks. It has been such a long time where nothing has happened.

"I've been told I might get something by the end of the year but I've been hopeful in the past so sometimes it feels a bit like I'm fighting a losing battle.

"Every day Daniella says 'if I had my own room this' or 'if I had my own room that'. She just needs her own space. I want to be able to help them both but I just have to rely on someone else."

She said she is not able to afford the price of a three-bedroom private home – or even an 'assisted' private rental scheme that would cost up to 870 a month.

Ms Partington said she bids for an average of up to ten properties every month.

Across the city, an average of 142 bids are placed for every property that becomes available, while in Corstorphine, two-bed flats receive an average of 647 bids.

Graeme Brown, director of housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, said: "The fact that nearly 650 people bid for some properties in Edinburgh starkly shows demand for affordable housing is continuing to outstrip supply in the Capital.

"We support the city council's continued calls for more funding for affordable housing, which echoes our campaign's call for increased cash for homes to rent.

"This year's budget needs to be the 'budget for homes' to increase funding for affordable rented housing in Edinburgh."

Councillor Paul Edie, the city's housing leader, said Ms Partington's case highlighted the desperate need for more affordable housing in Edinburgh. He said: "The extra money we received from the Government recently is welcome but there is still a significant gap between what the council and housing associations can build and what is needed."

He pointed out that the council is set to build the first council homes in a generation next year, with its 21st Century Homes project set to release 1,300 new properties, but admitted they will "only make a small dent in what is a very large problem".