SHEILA Smith has lived at the Bermuda Housing Trust (BHT) complex in Ferguson Park, Southside, since it opened three-and-a-half years ago. Her monthly rent now exceeds her monthly pension.

The BHT raised her rent from $650 a month to $800, and the 23 per cent rise kicked in on January 1.

She is one of 37 BHT residents to write to the Rent Commissioner to appeal against the rise and, in the meantime, has continued to pay the $650 rent.

"I have been working for 30 years and only retired last year and I get a pension of $700 a month," Ms Smith said. "Now they are asking me to pay $800 in rent. I wrote to them and told them to do the math. I never received a reply."

Ms Smith said most of the residents of the 18 units at Ferguson Park, which opened in August 2001, had signed a petition to protest against the rent hike.

"Most of the residents feel strongly about this but I sense that a lot feel defeated and just feel like giving up," she said.

"I can understand the need for a rent increase, but not to this extent. I don't see why they need a big rise in maintenance expense here, because the buildings are only three years old and in good condition."

We also spoke to BHT tenants who have lodged appeals with the Rent Commissioner and live in the Trust's other three complexes. None wished to give their names.

A resident of Elizabeth Hills in Pembroke told us her rent had more than doubled from $250 a month to $550.

"It has not affected me too much personally, because I was already on financial assistance and when the rent went up I just went in and told them I needed more, just like the BHC told us to do," the woman said.

"But one of my neighbours has got a part-time job and she says she feels too humiliated to go and ask for a handout. She has refused to do it. I guess that means what little money she got from the job will all go towards paying the rent and she won't be able to save anything any more."

She added that many residents, especially those on financial assistance, did not want to go public. "They don't want to rock the boat," she said. "They are scared they would be evicted."

The senior said she had lived at Elizabeth Hills for nine years and, in that time, had seen one rent increase, of $25, before the 120 per cent rise that came in on January 1.

"If they had put it up $50 a year, it wouldn't have been so bad," she said. "People expect the cost of everything to rise, but to put it up so much in one go is just not fair.

"They are telling us that maintenance costs $305 per unit, per month. That is ridiculous. We have someone coming around to cut the grass sometimes and the places get painted every three to five years. They have to pay for water sometimes in the summer as well, but there is no way they are spending that amount on maintenance.

"When I had a broken shutter and a screen falling off, they fixed the shutter but told me I was responsible for the screen. That's all right for me, I have a son-in-law who was able to fix it, but some of these people may be in their eighties and have no-one to help. What are they supposed to do when their screen needs fixing?"

She added that the lighting outside the 21 or so units at Elizabeth Hills was "diabolical" and despite promises to improve it at a residents' meeting two years ago, nothing had been done.

The resident said she had written to BHC chairman Charlton Dill and received no response and had spoken briefly on the phone to Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent, who is also her local MP.

"Mr. DeVent told me he was too busy to talk to me and I haven't been able to get through to him since," the resident said. "Next time there's an election and he knocks on my door, I'll tell him I'm too busy to talk to him ? or vote for him."

Another fed-up BHT resident, who lives in Heydon Park, Somerset, said her rent had rocketed from $360 to $650 ? an increase of 80 per cent.

"I'm on a widow's pension and Financial Assistance has been paying me rent and they will be paying my increase," she said. "I may not have to pay it myself but I still believe it's wrong.

"I mentioned that in my letter to the Rent Commissioner.

"They keep telling us that the rent is still below market value. But these units were built to house seniors on a fixed income who can't afford to pay the market rate."

The resident has been living at Heydon Park for six years and said maintenance management had been poor, even after the residents had pointed out problems. The most wasteful example was a leaking water tank.

"The tank has been leaking since Hurricane Fabian," she said. "The water was running out quickly and they kept sending water trucks to fill it up again. They sent someone to fix the leak, but the problem continued.

"The contractors they send here have done shoddy work. These people should not be in the real estate business. They haven't got a clue."

In Purvis Park, Devonshire, a resident of a one-bedroom apartment said her rent had more than doubled from $305 a month to $650.

"We are seniors living on a fixed income and we can't afford this kind of increase," she said. "I'm on a widow's pension of $760 a month, so after I've paid the rent there is very little to live on. And I still have bills like food, electric and insurance to pay.

"We can't afford to live unless we get help from other members of the family. They have told us we should ask for financial assistance but that is degrading for people."

The resident said she had lived at Purvis Park for about 18 years and said she recalled at least two rent increases in the past, of $28 and $35.

Other people among the 30 or so residents at Purvis Park felt equally strongly about the BHT rent increases and had joined her in marching on Parliament, she said.

"The Premier didn't even bother to come out to speak to us," she said.