The head of Bermuda's low-cost housing committee came to the defence of the Bermuda Housing Corporation this week.

Mr. Terrence Flood, who is also chairman of the Frog Lane condominium association, said he was tired of "public figures'' criticising the body which manages public housing.

The Housing Corporation has recently been attacked for raising rents without, some have claimed, fixing up its homes. But Mr. Flood -- who owns a house in Government's Frog Lane development in Devonshire -- said there was no agreement between tenants and the Housing Corporation that it would not increase rents.

And he said every year the Housing Corporation had to spend out more for maintenance of its houses.

"I believe that Bermuda Housing Corporation is the best housing agency in Bermuda,'' Mr. Flood said. "They have made it possible for thousands of Bermudians to afford homes.

"Where else can you sit down with landlords on a regular basis? "We have reached many goals since the Housing Corporation has been under Mr.

(Edwin) Cowen's leadership. He's the most successful general manager they have had.'' Mr. Flood noted that he had founded the low-cost housing committee, in 1984, which persuaded Government to drop its residential rents. And he stressed that this was done. And while he admitted that he believed Government should renovate its old houses, such as the Murray Apartments on Redcoat Lane, in St.

George's, he said: "The new homes -- built in the 1980s -- were given to tenants in immaculate condition''.

"Some people will wreck them in a few months of moving in,'' Mr. Flood claimed. "And if they do, it means high maintenance costs for everyone.'' The Frog Lane association met once a month to discuss how tenants and homeowners can improve the area and "get rid of undesirables'', he added.

The association's executive committee, of 11 homeowners, also organised six-month clean-ups annually.

Mr. Flood, who is a member of Keep Bermuda Beautiful's Rockwatchers programme, said: "We don't wait for the KBB to have their Island wide clean-up. We stress in our flyers that our neighbourhood is ours and it is up to us to take care of it.'' The association, which organised the removal of any garbage that two people can lift, was scheduled to hold its next clean-up on November 29.

Executive members of the association also walked about the Frog Lane properties to ensure that tenants were not violating the association's rules, Mr. Flood added.

"People need to keep their places in shape. Our committee is trying to keep the area from going like some other prefab areas. If people don't take care of their homes, they will become slums.''