A HOUSING association in Clydebank has announced it's looking for a partner to take over more than 300 homes.

Faifley Housing Association (FHA) said they had taken a look at their position and realised it was "not viable in the long term".

Tenants in 332 homes were all sent letters about the situation this week.

The landlord, which has a staff of six, said it remained "business as usual" and the process could take nearly 12 months.

Last summer, FHA, which also provides factoring services to 23 home owners, launched an "urgent" review of health and safety.

There were indications a year earlier that "things weren't right" in governance and financial management and FHA said they had been "working hard" to remedy the situation.

An independent review had found the registered social landlord (RSL) had not provided for long-term maintenance of their housing stock, and a lack of long-term planning was even more obvious during the pandemic lockdown when the IT system failed.

Read more: Faifley Housing Association launches ‘urgent’ review of its health and safety

Catherine Lowe, interim director of FHA, told the Post: "We looked at the long-term future and decided it's not viable in the long term. We are not in any financial difficulty.

"This is a positive progress of the association because it's clear about where it sees its future. It's still business as usual. We are still continuing to do everything we would normally."

FHA is inviting other registered social landlords (RSLs) to submit an expression of interest by May 5, with proposals due later in the month.

The process requires the approval of the Scottish Housing Regulator and detailed consultation with tenants about what they are looking for in a future landlord.

Ms Lowe added: "As an independent housing association, it will no longer exist."

In their letter to tenants on Tuesday, FHA said external consultants had considered four options for the future:

- Staying independent and addressing the range of issues;

- Staying independent but sharing/buying services from another housing association;

- Formally joining another housing association as its subsidiary;

- Transferring FHA's business into a larger housing association.

It was decided on March 30 to take the fourth option.

Tenancy rights are unaffected by the landlord's process, and tenants will ultimately have to vote on the transfer to a new housing association.