Bermuda Housing Trust tenants angered at what they see as Draconian increases in their rent will finally have their complaint heard in Magistrates? Court on October 24, has learned.

Represented by lawyer and Opposition House Leader John Barritt, the 39 residents are set to challenge a decision by the Rent Commissioner Eugene Foley to approve increases of up to double the previous levy in some cases ? a move described by Mr. Barritt as ?ridiculous and unprecedented?.

The 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 open market value.

The BHT?s Trustees are appointed by the Minister of Housing, but operate largely independent from Government and must raise capital through a variety of fund-raising schemes detailed in the Act.

According to figures obtained by , the BHT?s rental income will increase by just under 50 percent as a result of the hikes ? money apparently required to accommodate the ?spiralling? maintaining costs for 82 BHT housing units as well as to build yet more affordable housing to satisfy a growing waiting list of prospective tenants.

However, many angry BHT residents on fixed incomes have said they cannot realistically afford the new rents and that the current maintenance costs have been greatly exaggerated.

Mr. Barritt has been agitating since late last year for the BHT to justify the rent increases by making their audited financial statements available for the public?s perusal.

Provided everything is in order, such a move would undermine suggestions that the BHT is currently in financial difficulty and is attempting to raise rents dramatically in order to make up the shortfall, Mr. Barritt has argued.

In any event, the BHT is a public trust, established under Government statute, whose trustees are accountable to the Housing Minister, Mr. Barritt has further maintained ? meaning that it should be incumbent on the Trustees to conduct their business in the full glare of public scrutiny.

But both Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent and the BHT Trustees have made it clear that the law does not directly require them to make the financial statements public and they have no intention of doing so.

Mr. Barritt is expected to argue in the appeal that the dramatic rent increases fundamentally betray the original objectives of the Trust itself and should be revoked in favour of only modest increases in line with the cost of living.