Housing and help for the poor are set to be key election issues. Already both parties have put out details of their policies.

The PLP have promised 550 homes in the next five years. Some projects are already in progress and some, like the HarbourView Village, are much delayed.

The PLP project list is:

Anchorage Villas 16

Butterfield Lane 12

Loughlands 96

Perimeter Lane 38

Ireland Island 100

Westcott Lane 54

HarbourView Village 110

Ewing Street 24

Rockaway Seniors 100

And Government have pledged to loan interest-free downpayments to help 500 Bermudian families buy homes.

Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) tenants will get first option and then others will get a chance to apply.

And Government's plan to gear BHC rents to a quarter of a family's income has already been started in projects at Anchorage Villas in St. George's and Butterfield Lane in Sandys and will be expanded to all tenants who are not in arrears when their leases come up.

Government has also set up a programme called Breaking the Cycle, starting with rooming houses, where clients will attend a mandatory six-week programme to help them get out of transitional living into more independence.

The PLP say they have provided affordable housing for more than 800 Bermudians and more than 300 Bermudian families to date.

The UBP have promised to build 500 homes for affordable rental in five years.

And to boost home ownership it will:

• Encourage encourage private construction of affordable housing costing no more than $350,000 to $450,000 through tax and other incentives.

• Support construction of multiple dwelling units in high-density areas and the liberalisation of building height and density restrictions for special housing initiatives.

•Examine all Government property from St. George's to Somerset to identify appropriate land resources available for affordable housing.

• Work with financial institutions and developers to create innovative financing packages, including rent-to-buy schemes and reverse mortgages for seniors.

• Support the use of new modular construction technology to lower costs of new housing.

• Make affordable housing a priority in the next Bermuda Development Plan.

• Continue the programme to renovate derelict housing.

And to help reduce the burden on the poor the UBP will eliminate payroll tax for any person earning $42,000 or less.