Rent for some seniors at the Bermuda Housing Trust could be increasing by nearly 100 percent, the BHT revealed yesterday.

However the impact could be lessened by the fact that around 25 percent of the seniors living at Housing Trust properties actually have the means to live elsewhere.

For those who legitimately qualify as tenants with the BHT, chairman Ronald Simmons added, the Trust is flexible. ?We?re not looking to put anyone out.?

The new rents have not been set yet, he added ? however with the BHT incurring a financial loss yearly, they must increase somehow.

The function of the BHT, according to Mr. Simmons, is to provide housing for the relief of those stricken by poverty, suffering or misfortune.

Rents at most of the 82 units on four properties have not increased since 1996, Mr. Simmons said ? a situation which ?shouldn?t have been allowed?.

The BHT is not funded by Government, meaning that revenue is generated only by rents. Depending on the circumstances of each tenant, some concessions have been made in the rents. That means that at Hayden Trust, for example, where all the units are the same, some tenants could be paying around half the price of others. Now the BHT is hoping to set similar rents for similar units across the board.

The average cost for maintenance alone at all BHT properties is about $305 per unit ? however at least some tenants are paying only around $260 rent. ?We looked at our audited accounts, and we were incurring a loss,? Mr. Simmons said.

Because of the age of the properties maintenance does tend to be expensive, he said.

Without any contracted workers, the BHT is also at the mercy of the market ? though it does ensure it has at least three bids for each job, and that each job is reviewed by both the Bermuda Housing Corporation, which is managing the properties, and a sub-committee of the BHT.

?Rents needed to be looked at,? Mr. Simmons said. Another mandate of the BHT is to develop new properties, with a waiting list of at least 120 applicants already in existence. ?There is a great need out there. At the minimum, the existing premises need to be self-funding,? Mr. Simmons said.

With that in mind, the BHT held a series of ?town hall? style meetings with tenants to inform them of the decision to increase rents.

?They were quite frank and open. We fielded a lot of questions. Most people had a better appreciation of the BHT?s position.?

Now the BHT is waiting for the Rent Commissioner?s office to complete assessments of each unit and say if proposed rents are fair.

?The rents being proposed now are in some instances still half the market price,? Mr. Simmons said. ?There is still a significant savings to tenants.?

Even so, the proposed increases could be around 100 percent for some, he said. Depending on their circumstances, the BHT is willing to be flexible for some of those tenants, he said.

However, ?There are a large number of residents who generally would not qualify with us because of their incomes.

?They have got the means ? they could be paying market price.?

Some, he added, would not even qualify for Financial Assistance, while others actually have homes elsewhere.

Mr. Simmons himself questioned how these seniors managed to get places at the BHT in the first place. He said the problem was ?an inherited one? which the relatively new Board will have to deal with.

The issue may have arisen after the BHC took over management of BHT properties in 1995, he said. ?I guess with some of their issues, this may have slipped through the cracks.?

However with many new staff at the BHC, the BHT stood by its decision to continue to have its properties managed by the Housing Corporation. ?There are a lot of good professionals at the BHC.?

The BHT will also be looking at increasing rents annually or bi-annually from now on, Mr. Simmons said. ?We don?t know at this point what the actual rents will be. I would imagine we?ll know before the end of the month.

?Either way, it?s going to be a tough pill to swallow for some people.?

Opposition Seniors spokesperson Louise Jackson agreed.

Rent jumps of 100 percent were hard for anyone to cope with, she said, let alone seniors struggling to get by on a pension.

?Where are fixed income people going to get this money from??