A 41-year-old man and his pregnant wife have been booted out of their apartment after a nightmare battle with a money-hungry landlady.

After 14 years of marriage, the couple is expecting their first baby in August -- and are searching for a place they can safely call "home''.

They say they are good citizens, and neither of them has ever been jailed.

They also claim to be hardworking, pay their rent on time, and consider themselves "model tenants''.

According to the couple, their landlady terrorised and eventually evicted them so she could cash in on higher rents.

But the landlady claims that she needs a higher rent to support her and her husband, who is unable to work.

The Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) yesterday responded to the couple's plight by finding them another apartment, but now they fear their new child will be forced to grow up in a notorious crime area.

The woman said the apartment was in the "42nd Street'' (St. Monica's Mission) area -- and noted that she was "very concerned'' about the prospect of raising her child in a high drugs and crime area.

Although the couple did not wish to be identified, they claimed their story is a common one in Bermuda and was fuelled by greed.

"It's all because of money,'' the woman said. "Many Bermudians find themselves in this position because of foreign workers and the high rents they pay.

"It's so unfair to us, we're working class people...I feel like a second-class citizen in my own Country,'' said the woman.

The couple said they moved into the one-bedroom apartment in Sandys Parish more than two years ago, with a month-to-month lease and a rent of $800.

After paying rent and a breakage fee deposit, the couple assumed the apartment would be in good shape when they moved in.

But they claim that the day they moved in, the apartment had not been painted and there were holes in the walls.

Rent row Their complaints included being without hot water for more than five weeks, a landlady who moved their patio furniture according to her tastes, and several invasions of privacy.

And the couple claimed they had no bathroom door for more than three months.

"I felt so embarrassed when friends came to visit,'' the woman said.

According to the couple, the landlady barged into their house unannounced on more than one occasion -- including once on a public holiday when she demanded her rent be paid on the spot in front of the couple's guests.

That same night, the landlady allegedly returned -- and demanded the couple move out.

The couple said they checked their situation with the Rent Commission, and discovered the landlady's notice was void.

Later, the landlady verbally informed them that she was raising their rent by $150.

The couple said they heard through the grapevine that the landlady's church was importing foreign teachers -- and they believe she planned to seize the opportunity for higher rents.

The landlady eventually took the couple to court and they were given 60 days to vacate the premises.

But when time was up, the couple said the landlady left a message at the woman's job on May 11 saying they had been evicted -- and the couple said many of their belongings were ruined in the rain.

"I have lost a lot,'' said the woman. "Our things are all over the place -- scattered.'' The couple said they had been searching for another apartment, but were having difficulty finding a place they could afford.

"We found one empty apartment in Warwick, but the landlord wanted a $1,000 deposit, $1,000 rent, and the rent due again at the end of the month.

"So at the end of the month, that's $3,000 -- and with the baby coming, we've got to consider costs,'' she added.

Acting Rent Commissioner Gail Tucker-Williams said the law may well have been on the landlady's side regarding the eviction.

She said if the landlord lives in a building of three or less apartments built after 30 June 1983, the tenant has no security -- and can be evicted for any reason.

But the couple's former landlady and her husband told The Royal Gazette they evicted their tenants because they, too, were financially strapped.

They denied that they were looking specifically for foreign workers -- and claimed they were simply looking for locals who were willing to pay more rent.

The landlady said she and her husband wanted to move into the smaller apartment themselves so they could rent the larger one for more money.

She said her husband was too ill to work much and they have to support their child's school fees.

"I'm 57-years-old, with little education ... whose going to hire me into the work force?'' the landlady asked.

While admitting the couple always paid their rent on time, the landlady claimed they left the apartment "filthy dirty''.