A woman who claimed on TV she was going to be evicted from her home has now revealed that she was speaking on behalf of her mother.

Tanya Durham confronted Housing Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge at a protest for affordable housing ten days ago.

She claimed she had received a letter from the Bermuda Housing Corporation ordering her to leave her Kitchener Close home because several month's rent had not been paid.

But the Minister later denied that she was being evicted and claimed that she was not even a housing corporation tenant. Now Ms Durham has confirmed that, although she does live at the address, her mother, Thyra, is the legal tenant of the house and was the only person to sign the rental agreement.

"The reason why my name is not on the agreement is because, when we moved here, I was a minor,'' Ms Durham said. "Mr. Woolridge is making it look as though I'm here illegally but that's just not true.'' But the news has not pacified housing protesters who claim that Ms Durham could still be left homeless. Rosemarie Pedro, chairperson of the People's Coalition for Affordable Housing, said: "Ms Tanya Durham was speaking as an ambassador for her mother. She still resides with her mother and the family have been served with an eviction notice.

"The Bermuda Housing Corporation has denied the fact that they do evict people and Mr. Woolridge stated there have been no eviction notices served in the last 12 months.

"I am confused about the above statement as I have seen Ms Durham's eviction notice dated February 6. This is one family dealing with a difficult situation but there are many, many more.

"Rents are exorbitant and for the most part unaffordable for many people who are working for a minimum wage. We are calling on the conscience of our community as well as Government to address this crisis.

Last night, Mr. Woolridge insisted he had been correct when he said Ms Durham was not a corporation tenant. But he hinted that, although an eviction notice had been served, her mother would not be thrown out if she came to an arrangement with the corporation to pay off the rent arrears.

"Tanya's mother is the only name on the contract,'' he said. "When I first heard about this whole thing from Tanya, before I spoke to the House I phoned up the corporation to see if she had been served an eviction notice. They told me that she wasn't even a tenant.

"This has become a political football. The fact of the matter is there are a number of people living in the house and their combined monthly income is more than $5,000. The rent is only $821 -- something's wrong there. The housing corporation will not evict anybody unless they become totally irresponsible.

But if Tanya's mother speaks to the corporation they might be able to come to some agreement.'' GOVERNMENT GVT