poor to afford beds is a wake-up call to the community.

The problem is being blamed on the high cost of housing; families pay so much in rent that they cannot then afford to buy the basic furniture they need.

There are several ways to tackle the problem. More homes can be built, as occurred in the 1980s. Rent control, introduced in the 1970s, could be instituted more widely. Companies could be urged not to offer such generous housing subsidies, which some argue have served to pull rents up across the board.

Government could rethink its land tax increases, which have made landlords consider raising rents and led some pensioners to wonder if they should sell their hard earned homes.

Open Airways founder Liz Boden has stated that the problem should not be blamed on Government, which she says is working hard on ways to provide low cost housing. She says, rightly, that housing is a community problem.

The fact that the shortage also causes health problems such as asthma only increases the urgency of the crisis.

Having said that, there are no easy answers, as the Government is doubtless discovering.

Building new homes takes time, even if prefabricated materials are used.

Finding land, completing drawings and getting planning approval all mean that increasing the housing stock takes months, if not years -- assuming that the money is available.

Construction in Bermuda is expensive, to the extent that the private sector will be wary of building affordable housing, because there will be little or no financial return.

And Government cannot be expected to carry the whole burden, although there would be some justice in the idea that the $7 million raised from land tax was to be used to provide homes -- and slow down the rise in annual rental values; perhaps pensioners could get a rebate in return for their contribution to solving the crisis.

Rent control is equally problematic, for reasons that have been discussed before. It may make homes more affordable, but it acts as a disincentive for landlords to build more homes or to improve the buildings they already own. It does little to increase supply, except perhaps at the top end of the market -- and that is not where the problem is.

Lowering housing subsidies would be of some assistance, except it would have an immediate effect on the higher end of the market, not the lower end.

Government has said it is identifying 100 vacant properties which can be renovated and finding sites for 100 new homes. Controversially, some homes earmarked for sale at Southside have been designated for emergency housing, raising fears among potential home owners that their properties may be devalued.

It has been argued that the housing crisis is one of affordability, not availability, and it does appear that most people are eventually able to find somewhere to live -- although there is no research on how crowded the conditions are.

Building more homes will ease prices and availability and Government should accelerate its plans, while taking care that swaths of open space are not lost in the process.

But it should not lose sight of the idea that low cost properties can and should be sold to their tenants. Owners tend to be more stable and care more for their properties than tenants. Paying a mortgage is better than paying a landlord and gives families some financial security for the future. If Bermuda is to solve its housing problems over the long term, home ownership has to be part of the solution.