Elders are lobbying for a $75 rent hike to be thrown out — after being told Bermuda Housing Trust blew nearly $80,000 in a failed attempt to stop Auditor General Larry Dennis auditing its accounts.

Seniors in the Trust's properties across the Island say that on top of the soaring cost of living, the rent rise leaves them struggling to pay for food and fuel.

They have sent letters of appeal to the Rent Commissioner and point to Mr. Dennis' most recent report, which states the Trust spent $78,000 in a legal bid to keep him away from its books — cash he says could have been better spent on the seniors.

Residents affected include those at Purvis Park in Devonshire, Heydon Park in Somerset and Happy Valley Road in Pembroke. They report increases from $550 to $625 and from $650 to $725.

Their correspondence to the Rent Commissioner calls for the decision to be reviewed by the Rent Increases Advisory Panel.

One letter from a tenant states: "Cost of living gone up tremendously — Belco, HIP, groceries etc. ... the inflation rate. Why should tenants be paying the same rent when no major reparations have been done in the last 10 years?

"I do not have new flooring, cupboards, counters as do the new tenants."

Another states: "The price for everything has gone up. This includes food, gas, Belco, cable, shoes, clothes and most of all insurance."

Mr. Dennis said in his report that a Supreme Court decision in 2007 ruled Bermuda Housing Trust is a Government-controlled organisation, meaning the Auditor General is its auditor. He said he would be contacting the board to perform the 2008 audit.

He stated: "The court also awarded costs to my office. These costs totalled $39,000. I would assume that the Trust's legal costs equalled that amount.

"I have to think that $78,000 incurred in an attempt to prevent the Auditor General from auditing the Trust's accounts could have been better spent elsewhere. Ultimately, it is up to Bermudians to decide whether it was waste of funds intended for the public good, ie. for Bermuda senior citizens."

United Bermuda Party MP John Barritt, who has been in contact with residents along with party colleagues Louise Jackson, Donte Hunt and Senator Charlie Swan, said in a letter to Purvis Park residents: "If the Auditor General is right in his arithmetic, $78,000 could have gone a long way to easing the proposed rent increases."

Mr. Barritt's letter urged people to fill in a form and hand it to his secretary to be forwarded to the Rent Commissioner. He volunteered to pay the $30 fee for anyone who cannot afford it.

He also wrote to Trust chairman Ronald Simmons in early July, expressing his disappointment that residents did not receive prior notice about the increase.

He asked for the Trust to meet residents and explain why the increase was being introduced. He said he has so far received no reply.

Mr. Barritt told The Royal Gazette: "The one thing that I find incredulous is that the Trust never bothered to even write to the residents to tell them why an increase was being sought.

"The first they learned of it was when they received a notice from the Rent Commissioner that a rent increase was being sought, and this in the week Government dubbed Seniors Celebration/Appreciation Week.

"I have to say that I just felt compelled as their representative to help them register their disappointment and disgust over the way in which they have been treated, along with their objection to the proposed increase."