ELDERLY Bermuda Housing Trust tenants are to continue their fight against hefty rent increases despite having lost their appeal to the Rent Commissioner.

The 37 tenants who lodged appeals against the increases ? which were in some instances more than 100 per cent ? found out two weeks ago that they had been unsuccessful.

But the law entitles them to appeal again to the Magistrates' Court and last Friday, 31 of them filed papers to do just that.

Their lawyer is John Barritt, the United Bermuda Party MP, who has helped the seniors campaign against the rent increases since they were announced last October.

Mr. Barritt said yesterday: "An appeal has been lodged by 31 seniors against the decision of the Rent Commissioner, confirmed by the Rent Increase Advisory Panel, that the rent should stand.

"They are entitled in law to appeal under the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act. They feel very strongly about this, as do I, and they want to have their day in court.

"There is a pretty good representative sample of tenants from the four BHT developments."

The BHT owns 82 units at Purvis Park in Devonshire, Heydon Park in Somerset, Elizabeth Hills in Pembroke and Ferguson Park in St. David's.

Residents we spoke to had seen their rent increase anywhere from 23 per cent to 120 per cent. The new rents were approved by Rent Commissioner Eugene Foley and they kicked in on January 1 this year.

The seniors' appeal letter to Mr. Foley pointed out that the Trust was founded under the terms of the Bermuda Housing Trust Act 1965 with the stated aim of "providing low-cost housing for the needy elderly".

And, in the words of the Act, the Trust's function was to initiate "the relief of poverty, suffering and misfortune among elderly persons in Bermuda by the provision of accommodation for such persons on reasonable terms".

And the letter argued that criteria given by Mr. Foley for his decision to authorise the rent rise were flawed and that BHT rents could not be compared with the open market.

Their cases were reviewed by the Rent Increases Advisory Panel, whose members made site visits. They decided to uphold Mr. Foley's decision.

Mr. Foley said yesterday that the application to increase the rents had come to him from the Bermuda Housing Corporation on behalf of the BHT. He had approved the increases and had then received 37 appeals from tenants.

"I consulted with the Rent Increases Advisory Panel and their advice was that the increases were fair and reasonable," Mr. Foley said.

He added that he had not yet received notification of the latest appeals from the Magistrates' Court and so could not comment further.

Two residents of Purvis Park, both appellants in the forthcoming court case, spoke with the yesterday.

One said: "My rent more than doubled. It went up from $305 a month to $650. I was shocked. My pension is only $767 a month, so it doesn't leave me with much to live on.

"People feel very strongly about this up here. Some people are going to Financial Assistance for help, but I don't want to do that. I've always been able to pay my rent before.

"I was very disappointed that the rent panel turned down our appeal. They did come up here and take a look.

"I think this case is worth fighting for. Mr. Barritt is fighting for us and we are grateful for what he's done."

A second resident, who had also seen her rent rise from $305 to $650, said she understood the need for rents to go up, but not on that scale.

"I did not oppose the rent increase, it's just that it went up by too much," she said.

"It's a real blow to all of us that they turned down our appeal. Why us? They've picked on the senior citizen. What's going to stop the rent from going up again?"

Several residents continued their protest by paying rent at pre-increase levels this year as they awaited the Rent Increases Advisory Panel's ruling on the appeals.

Opposition seniors spokesmen Louise Jackson has also taken a great interest in the BHT case and she was disappointed that the seniors needed to go to court to fight their case.

"Can we in this country not see and understand the plight of these seniors, who don't have the money to pay this rent?" Mrs. Jackson said.

"Never in the rental history of these properties has there been a rent increase like this. All of a sudden, in 2005, they see their rent more than double, or even triple in some cases. And they just say to them, 'You can go to Financial Assistance'. That is not the action of a caring government.

"I would understand it if the Trust could point to huge renovations that they'd done. But we can't seem to get any facts and figures on what has been spent on maintenance.

"What is clear is that a lot of maintenance has not been done and still has to be done. It's another example of our seniors being treated with complete disdain.

"It's horrific to me that the Trust, something that started in such good faith, has come to this. It's a tragedy."