WITH properties in Lewisham heavily in demand, the council may be about to make it easier to buy outside the borough.

The mayor will decide on April 10 on changes to a scheme which would offer tenants up to £44,000 to give up their homes and buy private sector properties elsewhere.

Previously, those who opted to buy properties outside Lewisham under the Cash Incentive Scheme (CIS) would receive thousands less.

Demand for housing in the borough is high, agreed leader of Lewisham Lib Dems Councillor Chris Maines. 

He said: "People are sleeping on friends’ sofas and families are staying with grandparents, it’s not good for communities."

The CIS annual budget has been regularly under spent, with much of the £200,000 available each year rolled over.  The budget for 2013/14 now totals £565,869.

Cllr Maines agreed it would help those who wanted to leave the borough, saying: "We’ve got to get away from the idea that council houses are homes for a lifetime."