Senator calls for protection for Anchorage Road residents

Government should also be bound as a landlord by rent control so that tenants such as those at Anchorage Road will be offered some protection under the law, Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan said yesterday.

The tenants still may have had to move, he added - but at least they would have been protected under rent control. Tenants at the Bermuda Housing Corporation-owned Anchorage Road development were served eviction letters in October. The BHC is renovating the homes and renaming them Anchorage Villas.

In July, BHC Chairman Lt. Colonel David Burch said the work would be co-ordinated to coincide with the relocation of the current tenants. Residents were informed of the move a year ago, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent has said, however tenants have complained of the timing of the move (just weeks before Christmas) and the sub-standard housing to which they are being relocated.

Both landlords and tenants have protection under the Rent Control Increases (Domestic Premises) Act. The Senate passed an amendment to that Act yesterday which increased the ARV necessary for a premise to fall under rent control from $16,200 to $24,600.

Though Sen. Swan said he hoped the Attorney General, fellow Senator Larry Mussenden would go downstairs and amend the Act even as he spoke - adding that he could talk ?til I?m blue in the face? if necessary - Sen. Mussenden remained seated.

?The spirit of this law wasn?t applied by Government,? Sen. Swan said, adding if Government was not prepared to amend the legislation, they should at least follow it in spirit and principle.

Working under the Act would have ensured a procedure was followed with best- and worst-case scenarios laid out for the tenants, he said - instead of the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the heads of tenants. ?People were being evicted, people?s locks were changed while they weren?t at home, people were being violated,? Sen. Swan said. Had a private citizen acted in that manner, he added, it would not have been tolerated.

?This is not a hypothetical situation, it didn?t happen 30 years ago under the UBP, it is happening now and it is wrong.?

Junior Housing Minister Sen. Raymond Tannock promised that Government is working with Anchorage Road tenants to provide them with suitable accommodations.

Housing schemes to get Customs duty relief

Customs duty relief for approved housing schemes were passed by senators yesterday in an attempt to help ease the housing crisis.

The move could save Bermuda Homes for People (BHP) $4-$8 million as they develop 196 affordable and market price homes at Southside next year.

The much anticipated duty relief was taken into account when the BHP first set its budget some two years ago for the plan, which use will profits from the sale of 98 market price homes to help finance the development of 98 affordable homes.

Currently the market price homes are available only to first-time home buyers. However if those homes do not sell within a certain period of time, the doors will be opened to anyone wishing to purchase the properties in an attempt to get the focus of the project ? the affordable homes ? off the ground.

Any revenue generated by the project will be ploughed right back into the development or set aside for future similar developments, the BHP has stated. However senators hoped the country would receive fair value for the millions developers would save in the process.

?We have to hope the savings are passed along,? independent Sen. Walwyn Hughes said. ?This has to be carefully managed... We must make sure we get a good product at the end.?

The term ?approved housing scheme?, he added, was not clearly defined in the legislation, while Opposition Sen. Bob Richards wondered how Government would make up for the lack of revenue the Customs duty would have brought in.

Kudos to Govt. for land tax break

Senior members of the Senate thanked Government yesterday for new legislation exempting seniors from paying land tax. ?The last bits of legislation coming through have improved the lot of seniors,? independent Sen. Walwyn Hughes said. ?This is a huge benefit ? a great Christmas present for seniors.?

The new tax bands were set in an attempt to mitigate the effects of significant land valuation increases, tO be made public on December 31.

That left the Opposition and independent senators holding Finance Minister Paula Cox to her word that the new bands will prove to be revenue neutral. Without the adjustments, land taxes could have increased significantly, Sen. Raymond Tannock said.

Oughton upbraids DeVent

Senate president Alf Oughton chastised Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent yesterday for holding a Press conference on rent control legislation before it was approved by the Senate.

Legislation is not considered passed until it has been approved first by the House of Assembly, then by the Senate, and finally signed into law by the Governor.

?He would?ve had egg all over his face if this had come here and we had turned it down,? Sen. Oughton said. ?He?s got to hold his hand on the trigger before he fires.?

Junior Housing Minister Sen. Raymond Tannock apologised to Sen. Oughton and the Senate on behalf of Mr. DeVent.