Home owners who refuse to rent out their spare properties could be financially penalised under new Government plans.

Housing Minister David Burch told a meeting last night the PLP planned to introduce a charge to discourage people from keeping their properties empty.

He said: ?I think it?s important for us to understand that our housing problem in this country could be solved overnight and I say that because if you look at the statistics that were included in the 2000 census there are over 2,000 units in this country that are unoccupied.

?Owners elected not to rent them. These people in this country that choose not to rent their properties are going to have to pay a premium in order to do so.?

Mr. Burch was speaking at a meeting of the PLP's Southampton East Constituency in Vernon Temple AME Church Hall.

He revealed that he expected a windfall of cash for housing in next week?s Budget, adding that the Finance Minister had ?indicated she?s going to very generous to us in housing?.

But he told party members that he was not going to set out for them everything that the Government planned to do to alleviate the housing crisis.

?It makes little sense to give people notice about what it is that we have planned,? he said. ?I can assure you that there is a plan. Some of it will become a little clearer to you in a general sense next week Friday, when the Budget is announced.

?There is funding in the Budget coming up and as I understand it the funding will not necessarily be allocated to the three quangos that we have.

?I believe that most of the funding, at our request, is going to reside in the Ministry. What we are attempting to do is to have a cohesive approach.?

Mr. Burch said he believed companies who wanted to build office blocks should have to turn the top two floors into apartments for workers because of the Island?s shortage of housing.