The Auditor General has given the 2003 Bermuda Housing Corporation books a clean bill of health, an elated BHC Deputy Chairman David Burch reported yesterday.

BHC had been rocked with corruption scandals in recent years which delayed the tabling of previous figures to the Auditor General's office.

Yesterday, Lt. Col. Burch said: "The 2003 audit is in the final stages of completion, I can report that the Auditor General has issued a clean opinion, bearing in mind that he denied an opinion in 2002.

"The completion of the 2004 Audit is anticipated by year end and will probably be tabled alongside the 2003 audit.

"We are elated and very pleased with the work of the staff which has gone into it, preparation for the audit.

"Many, many hours, way beyond the normal work day, have gone into it to get ourselves back on a proper footing and stay there.

"The community will find the Corporation is on a proper footing, set on the right path."

Lt. Col. Burch said that, as part of the preparations for the audit and the clean up of accounts, the accounting department has produced a list of Proposed Bad Debt Receivables for Write Off ? as at August 31, 2004. This list totals almost $2 million.

"To date almost $400,000 has been recommended for write-off," said Lt. Col. Burch.

"I should note ? in response to the former general manager's (Edwin Cowen's) claim that all was well before his departure ? almost $250,000 of this figure is for amounts in excess of seven years.

"The reasons for this are death, unemployment, non-compliance with Financial Assistance and incarceration of those concerned."

Lt. Col. Burch said the mortgage portfolio stood at 161 mortgages held by the Corporation, valued at $16.9 million, of which 61 are in arrears.

"Which appears high ? but is ameliorated by the fact that those arrears amount to just under $100,000.

"We are working successfully with all but one of these homeowners to reduce their arrears. The process of foreclosure on the worst case is proceeding."

He said BHC was in talks with the Bank of Butterfield on mortgages to help reduce the Corporation's liability exposure.

Rental arrears continued to improve with a further reduction this month of almost $40,000, he added: "Total rental arrears stand at almost $950,000. This is a long-term project that our tenants, in the main, are meeting."