Residents at Brenda Dench House in Weymouth 'delighted' to be moved out

As reported, we visited Brenda Dench House in August and found the communal areas filled with flies and stinking of urine, with broken windows, no lock on the main door and an under-stair bin-store adding to the stench.

This is the cupboard under the stairs where residents had to store their rubbish bags - causing a foul smell and swarms of flies in communal areas

It is also alleged that drug users regularly broke in and caused anti-social behaviour in the hallway.

The main door to the flats had a broken lock when the Echo visited - meaning that anyone could walk into the building

Now housing association Magna has issued all tenants with a six-month eviction notice and all are to be found homes elsewhere. Magna will not renew the lease and is handing the building back to its owners.

One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said she is "ecstatic" about being evicted.

She said: "Magna initially had the wrong number for me - I found out after the other tenants made a group chat and added me to it and I was like, 'Am I reading this correctly that we're all being evicted?'

"That next morning I rang up Magna and they said, "We've been trying to get hold of you, your six month eviction notice will be with you today.

"It was a very big shock - I didn't expect an eviction - I literally was ecstatic - so excited.

"I'm now going to be found a three bedroom house for my children, my father and I - my dad needs special adaptations due to his health as he's about to have heart surgery. I'm just so happy to be moving."

She added: "When the man handed me the eviction notice I said 'thank you', and he said, 'This case is really weird - I've been to three flats now and they've all thanked me - normally if I hand out an eviction I get abuse.

"I genuinely think it's because of the Echo article that they're not renewing the lease - if that hadn't happened we'd still be stuck here."

Christine Boland, head of housing services at Magna Housing Association, said: “Many of our customers at Brenda Dench House have been keen to move for a while and as the lease comes to an end in May 2021, we’ve started the process of supporting customers to move now.

"Most have welcomed this and we’ll be working with them to help find a new home, whether this be with us, or another housing provider.

"We’ve got a great team who are ensuring customers have a new home to move into. We’ll be in regular contact every step of the way and can provide additional support where needed.”