Health Minister Nelson Bascome last night refuted a claim that he promised a house to a family about to be evicted.

Mr. Bascome said he does not have the power to instruct Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) to allocate houses to individual families and said he did not promise a home to Scott Smith.

And Mr. Bascome said it was peculiar that Mr. Smith was about to be made homeless when he was listed as the co-owner of a house which is itself rented out.

Mr. Smith, a self-employed paint contractor, contacted The Royal Gazette last week to claim that Mr. Bascome promised him a house when he spoke to him on the Everest DaCosta show.

He said he was three months behind in his rent and his wife and their four children would need to be split up after they were evicted from their home in Dundonald Street, Hamilton, last week.

But Mr. Bascome said last night: "I never promised him a house, and you can check the tapes of the show. The comment was that Bermuda Housing Corporation will take care of him and not allow his family to go on the street.

"Bermuda Housing Corporation is a Quango and I have no control over the direction of resources of BHC. Mr. Smith did call me and I did speak with him twice and said I had referred the matter to BHC.

"As the minister, I don't have the power to allocate units of the BHC. The technical staff are there for that and they are the ones who make recommendations.

"Mr. Smith said no-one is willing to assist him. It is standard policy in these situations to offer any accommodation they have available at that time.

"In this case, the only accommodation was a guest house and Mr. Smith rejected this (because he couldn't cover the rent). If a tenant is unable to cover their rent, we have the client work with the Financial Assistance Department."

Mr. Bascome said Mr. Smith's wife also worked and in his dealings with the BHC, Mr. Smith had shown he did have sufficient income.

"The crux of this story is that he is the co-owner of a three unit house with his family. He owns a house, and the unit he owns is rented out to pay his mortgage, and he's out renting. If someone owns a house, why would they see themselves homeless?

"I am hoping this family will use the social worker because in a situation like this, it seems as if there are some family relations not working out. And as he owns a house, there is probably some need for budget management."