The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has welcomed the promise by Junior Housing Minister, Baroness Andrews, to table a government amendment to the current Housing and Regeneration Bill, which will introduce an enabling clause ensuring that all tenants can be protected by the new Tenant Services Authority (TSA) regardless of their landlord.

Lord Best, articulating the views of a coalition including CIH, the Local Government Association, the National Consumer Council, the Tenant Participation Advisory Service, the National Housing Federation and the national Federation of ALMOs, put forward a change to the Bill and succeeded in gaining government assurances of support for the amendment, without which council tenants would have had to wait for several years to be protected.

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The government amendment will be tabled in the third reading of the Bill on 17 July and, if accepted by the House of Lords, will herald a significant success for CIH and its partners and most importantly for tenants.

Sarah Webb, CIH Chief Executive, said: "CIH is delighted that this amendment to the Bill will be tabled next week. It is surely right that all tenants should be protected and given the same rights at the same time, regardless of who their landlord is. The potential to bring this in through the enabling clause is important for getting the culture and the policies of the TSA right."

(CD/JM)