Rents at a new affordable housing complex for seniors should be flexible and fair, an MP said yesterday.

Opposition Health Minister Louise Jackson welcomed news that the $12.5 million Bermuda Housing Trust (BHT) project at Rockaway, Southampton, was progressing well.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Tuesday at the construction site where 100 apartments for elderly folk will be built. The badly-needed self-contained units ? helping meet the growing demand for seniors? housing ? is scheduled for completion next July.

But Mrs. Jackson said that the recent legal action by some seniors seeking rent reductions should serve as a warning before the new properties open their doors and rental fees are fixed.

?The rents at Rockaway should not be fixed across the board, they should be scaled,? said the United Bermuda Party MP. ?They have to be flexible and take into account income and savings.?

Attempts to contact trust chairman Ronald Simmons yesterday to discuss the rents at the new development were unsuccessful.reported in January how 31 pensioners won rent reductions after an out-of-court settlement with BHT. A further 50 seniors could get similar relief when their cases are reviewed, Mr. Simmons confirmed.

In October 2004, Rent Commissioner Eugene Foley approved increases of $290 per month for residents at Heydon Park, Somerset.

Elsewhere, Elizabeth Hills, Pembroke increased by $300, Purvis Park, Devonshire rose by $345 and Ferguson Park, St. David?s went up $150, in a move Mr. Foley said was justified because similar homes would rent for higher rates.

But after the legal action, BHT agreed to cut rents for 13 tenants from Heydon Park and Purvis Park to $550 per month.

Six residents from Elizabeth Hills and 12 from Ferguson Park also won reductions, however, all reductions related to the out of court settlement end in January, 2007, when the approved rises come back into force.

Mrs. Jackson yesterday said that the delayed increases ?sent alarm bells ringing? about what might happen when Rockaway opens.

?Will the rents be reasonable and will they be fixed in such a way so a person living on just under $400 a month will be able to afford them,? she asked.

?Some seniors are doing very well. They have a pension from both Government and work and other sources of income. I?m sure that rents of $500 or $600 are fine for them.

?But nearly half our seniors are living below the poverty line of $30,000 each year, so there are many out there who can?t afford to pay $500-plus a month.?

Trust officials said at the ground-breaking ceremony that screening of residents was ongoing to ensure elderly people who eventually move in are those most in need of affordable housing and lower rents.

The trust?s mission statement says that it is ?dedicated to providing homes on favourable terms to those seniors who are financially burdened by current economic demands?.