Bigger incentives could be offered to council house tenants in Moray to free-up much-needed bedrooms.
About 500 people are currently on the waiting list to move into a local authority home in the region.
Figures published by Moray Council have revealed more than 430 tenants have empty bedrooms in their homes.
Tomorrow the authority’s communities committee could approve plans to tempt residents to move by offering them an extra £400 on top of the current £1,500 package.
In the last four years only 64 tenants have been persuaded to downsize.
Buckie councillor Gordon Cowie believes the bigger cash incentive could encourage residents to move.
He said: “We can only hope. We certainly need them to though. There are so many people looking for rented accommodation at the moment.
“There are people with grown-up families who hang on to three-bedroom homes. It’s difficult though, because a house is a home.
“We are building 50 new houses a year but we can’t build them quick enough. We don’t have the budget to do any more.”
Housing officers at the council are now proposing a more ambitious target of 25 moves a year to free-up bedrooms.
Other changes could make the packages available to residents in homes adapted for wheelchairs.
Since 2012, £130,000 in incentive payments have been given to tenants.
Single people aged over 60 have been the most common applicants, followed by couples with no children.
If approved, the changes would come into force in April.
In a report for councillors the local authority’s head of housing and property, Richard Anderson, said: “The financial incentives offered as part of the scheme compare favourably with those offered by other authorities.
“While it is not proposed to change the basic format, the one area where tenants have previously raised concerns is the level of unforeseen disruption that a housing transfer can create.
“To reflect this, it is proposed to award an additional £400 per transfer to cover unforeseen costs.”
