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Western Gazette saves families from eviction

The Western Gazette, in Somerset, has intervened to save 14 families from eviction.

The newspaper got involved after the families were told that the tenancies on their rented houses were being ended.

But the tenants said they had moved into the properties on the understanding that the tenancies were renewable.

Eight months after moving in, the families were sent letters asking them if they wanted to buy their houses. A few weeks after this, Merlion Housing Group, the company which owns the houses, instructed their letting agents to terminate the tenancies at the end of their present contracts.

Merlion had bought the houses from Westbury Homes last year. Westbury Homes was given planning permission for the houses by Dorset District Council in 1997 on condition that the houses stayed “affordable”.

Although a legal agreement was drawn up by the council, the wording of it allowed Westbury to sell the homes and allowed Merlion to take the steps it did.

The council said it is changing the wording of such legal agreements in future so that a similar situation should not arise again.

Meanwhile, the Western Gazette stepped in and organised a meeting with the tenants, and subsequently, the instructions to the letting agents to end the tenancies were withdrawn.

A spokeswoman from Dorset Lettings, which acted on behalf of the Merlion Housing Group, told the newspaper: “It is good news for the tenants as it means they will be able to stay in their homes, which will not be sold until they give notice to terminate their tenancies themselves.”

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