Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister of Housing Wayne Furbert has compared the Bermuda Housing Corporation to the Russian KGB.

The BHC recently sent letters to its tenants requesting letters from their employers stating their monthly or annual wage/earnings for the last 12 months, as well as the projected income for the next 12 months for all household members over the age of 18.

Additionally, tenants are asked to provide their social insurance numbers and some form of photo identification by the end of February.

The letter states that tenants need to provide the information as a procedure for verification of earnings as they are currently occupying a BHC subsidised housing unit.

Mr. Furbert said this showed just how insensitive Government was when it came to dealing with people.

He said tenants already living under enough stress with the current housing shortage and this would only make things worse.

Mr. Furbert blamed Government for failing to come up with a comprehensive housing plan for the past six years.

He said Government was now to KGB tactics in dealing with people who rent from the BHC.

"Their failure is an unforgivable failure because they had the opportunity to do something right, not for political reasons, but to take care of our people and they didn't," he said.

Mr. Furbert said Government should have looked at building 200 houses on the Island in a large area instead of several ones.

"In Mary Victoria Road where they're trying to squeeze as many BHC houses as they can into an already cramped neighbourhood shows they have no regard for people. Not to mention Anchorage Road in St. George's where they have simply displace families, not caring where they ended up," he said.

Mr. Furbert slammed the Housing Trust for increasing rents to seniors by almost 100 percent.

"Some of their rents have gone up from $300 to $600 a month and many of these people have a limited income as it is," he said.

"This is not how you work with people and certainly not the way the UBP would work with people," he said.