Bermuda Housing Trust (BHT) Chairman Ronald Simmons said that around 50 other pensioners could receive rent reductions in light of an out-of-court settlement that won 31 pensioners rent reductions for 13 months.

?It is something we have to look at on a case-by-case basis,? BHT Chairman Ronald Simmons said yesterday.

In October 2004 Rent Commissioner Eugene Foley approved rent increases for Heydon Park, Somerset, residents of $290 per month starting on January 1, 2005.

Elizabeth Hills, Pembroke, saw similar increases of $300, Purvis Park, Devonshire, a $345 increase and Ferguson Park, St. David?s, a $150 increase. The Rent Commissioner justified the rent increases saying similar homes would rent for higher rents.

Represented by lawyer and Opposition House Leader John Barritt, on December 6, BHT agreed to give 13 tenants from Heydon Park and Purvis Park, a decrease in rents to $550 from December 1, 2005 through to January 1, 2007.

Six Elizabeth Hills residents got a $50 per month reduction for 13 months and 12 pensioners from Furguson Park got a $75 reduction.

However, after January 1, 2007, the Rent Commissioner?s approved rent increases will come back in effect.

Shadow Minister of Health and Family Services, Community and Cultural Affairs and Seniors Louise Jackson said it would be a pity if the other tenants did not have the advantage of a rent reduction.

?Many of these seniors are struggling in an economy that is far beyond their meagre pensions,? Mrs. Jackson said.

She congratulated the 31 tenants on their victory and said Mr. Barritt had worked for them for free.

?He put in hundreds of hours of work on this,? she said. ?I hope that the Housing Trust will find it in their hearts to give rent reductions to all of them.?

And Mr. Simmons said yesterday that the money raised by the 2005 rent increases will not be used to construct 100 self-contained units for seniors on a vacant lot between Sea Express Lane and Rockaway Road, Southampton.

?No, the plan had always been to get the existing places self sufficient and get on with Rockaway with other money that had been set aside,? Mr. Simmons said.

In October, Mr. Simmons said the project was expected to cost around $12.5 million and that 190 people were on a BHT waiting list. This plan had not yet been approved by the Development Applications Board, however, he remained hopeful that it would succeed.

BHT was established under an Act of Parliament in 1965 with the mandate of providing accommodation for Bermuda?s seniors for prices well below the market value.

The Trustees are appointed by the Housing Minister but operate independently from Government in the main ? although BHT does pay a sizeable fee to the Bermuda Housing Corporation for a number of property services including property management.