‘Save the tenancy – don’t serve notice.’ That’s the message to landlords from a west country council.

Landlords and tenants are being asked to get in touch with Torbay council instead, to help reduce and prevent homelessness in the Bay.

The aim is to encourage tenants to contact the council for advice if they think they may be at risk of being served notice, and also support landlords who are either struggling to let out their properties or who may need additional support with tenants to prevent the need to serve notice on them.

The council says it’s reminding landlords of the Tenancy Matching Scheme which helps to match ‘tenancy ready’ clients with local landlords and looks at suitability based on things like suitability and affordability of the property.

A council spokeperson says: “Over the past few weeks we have seen a bit of a spike in tenants becoming homeless and needing temporary accommodation, and we obviously want to avoid this happening wherever possible.

“Our main message here is that prevention is better than cure – save the tenancy, don’t serve notice. So whether you are a tenant at risk of being served notice or a landlord experiencing issues our housing officers are here to help.

“Our tenancy matching scheme also offers support for landlords including finding suitable tenants for your property, deposit and rent in advance to minimise delays in letting your property, ongoing support for you as long as the tenant lives at the property, and a review of each tenancy at the end of the first six months.”