The Bermuda Housing Trust (BHT) is confident that their controversial application for rent increases will be upheld in court, chairman Ronald Simmons told Rotarians yesterday.

Meanwhile the increasing need for affordable housing for seniors is evidenced by the wait list for BHT properties, he said - a list which has leapt from 106 names in 2001 to 182 in 2005.

All research is currently pointing toward the fact that more and more seniors will be forced to rent homes in the future, he added.

Conceptual plans for what the BHT hopes to do on land recently donated by Government are coming soon, he added. Government gave three acres of land at Rockaway in Southampton to the BHT, and the Trust plans to build a minimum of 60 units on that property - hopefully more, depending on flexibility at the Department of Planning, Mr. Simmons said.

Speaking at the Hamilton Rotary Club's weekly luncheon yesterday, Mr. Simmons said the BHT respects tenants' constitutional right to protest the rent hikes by taking legal action. While the BHT has not yet received formal notice of legal action, he said it was understood that the tenants will be taking the matter to court - and for that reason he felt he had to limit his comments on the issue.

Mr. Simmons did say, however, that the BHT had acted with “sensitivity” and “good conscience” in making the decision to increase rents to $650.

Summarising the controversy yesterday, Mr. Simmons said in January, 2004 the BHT formed a five-year strategic plan.

The mission was to continue to provide quality, affordable housing for seniors, while the BHT also determined a need to be innovative regarding independent living for seniors, for transparent dealings, and to be governed by accountability.

They formulated three objectives: to increase public awareness of the BHT, to continue to develop new housing projects, and to establish a sustainable fund-raising campaign.

First, however, Mr. Simmons said the BHT had to address the existing properties - properties that have been costing the BHT an average loss of $34,000 per year since 1999.

That loss combined with increasing costs is what led the BHT to increase rents so that they were even across the board and set at around $650 per month ($800 at the newer Ferguson Park). The rent hikes were approved by the Rent Commissioner and upheld by the Rent Advisory Board on appeal.

The BHT determined that some 19 tenants would need some level of Financial Assistance to meet the new rents, Mr. Simmons said. The new rents, he added, are all still less than half of the land tax for the four BHT properties and well below the market rate.

The ongoing controversy, he added dryly, has gone a long way towards helping the BHT achieve the first of their goals - increasing public awareness of the Trust.