Minister of Works, Engineering and Housing, Ashfield DeVent last night defended the Bermuda Housing Corporation?s right to obtain financial information from tenants.

He was responding to a comment by Shadow Housing Minister Wayne Furbert, who likening the BHC to the Russian KGB in requesting monthly or annual wage/earnings from tenants in BHC properties.

Mr. Furbert had said it showed Government?s insensitivity when dealing with people.

According to letters sent out by the BHC, tenants will have to supply letters from their employers stating their monthly or annual wage/earnings for the last 12 months, as well as the projected income for the next 12 months for all household members over the age of 18.

Additionally, tenants are asked to provide their social insurance numbers and some form of photo identification and needed submitted to BHC by the end of this month.

The letter states that tenants need to provide the information as a procedure for verification of earnings as they are currently occupying a BHC subsidised housing unit.

Mr. DeVent said a growing number of people appeared to be abusing the system and Government had to make sure that tenants who receive subsidies deserve it.

?The Bermuda Housing Corporation has every right to request financial information from tenants. It is an issue that negatively impacts the public purse as those units are subsidised through Government and we need to know whether or not tenants are able to pay the rents,? he said.

Mr. DeVent went on to say that some tenants were so far behind in their rent, and in many cases could not afford to pay that the Government needed to make sure they merit the subsidies.

?We also need to try to collect some of these back rents if at all possible,? he said.

Describing the procedures the BHC uses for prospective tenants, the Minister said each application with the BHC completed a Rental Unit Survey which asked a number of questions about employment, income and expenses for every member of the household.

The final section of this survey is entitled ?Verification of Information? and each household member signs this.

It states, in part: I hereby give my consent and authorisation to the Corporation to make such enquiries as it deems necessary to verify the information given in this form and I authorise any person, corporation or social agency having knowledge of any such information to confirm the same on the request of the Corporation.?

Mr. DeVent said each household member therefore authorises the Government to see this information and, in this instance, the BHC was asking each household for permission to obtain verification of income from their employer.

He added that these procedures had been in place for some time.

?The BHC has requested 12 months information as it will identify issues of seasonality and anticipated pay increases that may not be apparent from looking at an individual pay slip,? he said.

He added that the BHC has limited resources and must ensure that those limited resources go towards helping those most in need.

The financial information requested, he said, would help assist the Corporation to ensure that the public purse was not abused by those least requiring assistance with housing.

Mr. DeVent said he was not surprised, but was extremely disappointed that Mr. Furbert continued to politicise housing.

?This is a crucial issue that has to be addressed above and beyond politics. We have already dealt with the issues raised by Mr. Furbert,? he said.

He said all but one of the residents at Anchorage Road was re-housed by the Corporation and every effort was being made to accommodate the requests of the tenants without jeopardising the start of the project and to avoid potential increased costs due to delays.

The Corporation was unable to meet all of the requests to remain in St. George?s in spite of a great pains, he said, to do so.

Mr. DeVent said the most economical way of renovating the Anchorage buildings, which were badly in need of renovation, was to completely empty the site and work on all the buildings at the same time.