Housing Minister David Burch last night hit out at landlords who keep properties vacant.

During a heated meeting at a packed Bermuda Industrial Union, Senator Burch said more than 2,000 units were empty.

Repeating a warning he issued earlier this year, he told the public meeting: ?Those people that elect to do that should have to pay a premium to keep them vacant.?

Too many homes either carried rents tags that were too expensive, or stood empty as a result of ?pure, unadulterated greed?, he added.

Sen. Burch also told an audience of more than 150 people that although Government had a responsibility to tackle the housing crisis, some problems could be overcome ?if we went back to families helping families?.

He added: ?We have to pool our resources and share. Reach back to community roots.?

The Minister was speaking at public meeting updating residents on housing projects planned for central area.

This included the 96-unit Loughlands development for which he said building permits were due to be issued in the next few days, meaning the developer could start early excavation work on site.

More than 500 people had put their names forward to live at the development, and he said they would be contacted soon and asked to provide more detailed information.

?Those who called first will be at the top of the list and they will only fall off that position if they do not qualify or if they take themselves off.?

He said that some 400 people would be disappointed and not secure a Loughlands place. But these people would move onto the list for further housing projects, such as the 54-unit development at Southside.

?There will not be a new list for each new project,? said the Minister.

He also spoke about Government?s commitment to ?geared for income? housing, which he said would feature in the forthcoming Throne Speech.

Using the example of two-bed units on the Perimeter Lane development, he said that family salaries would be assessed and rent a quarter of the monthly income.

Sen. Burch said he expected every family to pay a different level of rent, with Government ?stretching out? the period of time it got money back from new units built.

Elsewhere, when questions were taken from the floor, concerns were raised about increased traffic as a result of the Loughlands project. One woman said there were ?five rush hours every day? and Paget was already a ?huge bottleneck?.

The Minister said there would not necessarily be 96 new cars at the completed site, with many people heading there already car owners.

Another woman asked what was being done for people who had been told they did not earn enough to qualify for Loughlands ? but had been told they took home too much to get into the new Southside development.

The Minister said details of projects were not made public until he was confident they would become reality ?There?s a market for your price range and that?s coming next,? he added.

Quizzed on the issue of high rents Sen. Burch said there could be a need for looking again at the current rent ceiling, although he suggested landlords would not be happy with such a move.