A housing association has invested £250,000 into a project launching this week to help residents sustain their tenancies through difficult times.

Guinness South - which has over 1,000 properties in Hackney - has set up a five-person team to provide short-term, intensive one-to-one support to help deal with health, finance and unemployment issues with the aim of reducing the cost and distress of failed tenancies.

Justin King, head of operations for tenancy services said: “It will enable us to provide support anywhere from four to ten weeks, and although it’s not a long-term service, we will ensure that the individual has an alternative provision in place before we step away.

“Ultimately, we want our residents to feel capable and confident in keeping a roof over their heads - whether that’s by improving their overall life skills or gaining help and advice on issues such as welfare reform, our main aim with this new team is to enable our residents to help themselves.”

For more information see www.guinnesspartnership.com.