An angry daughter has hit out at Premier Alex Scott, branding him an irresponsible landlord for charging her elderly mother rent for a house in atrocious condition.

Sharan (Corr) Samuels claims that Mr. Scott charges 82-year-old Esther Williams $300 of her $582 monthly pension for a home that has no bathing facilities and is plagued by termites and mice.

?The house is not fit to live in,? she said of the decrepit two-up two-down property on Tribe Road Number One, Warwick, which also has rotten stairs and floorboards, peeling paint and broken windows.

?I?d like the people who voted PLP to be able to see this house and the state of it. The Premier needs to find out about this, and how serious it is, and not go around collecting rent from elderly people living in conditions like this.

?I?d like for him to come and live in these conditions and see how he likes it. If he feels that by me complaining it is putting him on the spot then let?s exchange houses. I?m saying this to because we need help.?

Mrs. Samuels contacted the newspaper without her mother?s knowledge while she was in hospital with a broken hip, sustained by a fall down the stairs.

She said the senior had not complained about the house herself as she is terrified that she will be evicted.

Mrs. Samuels produced a letter regarding the rent on Alex Scott?s headed paper, and said that her mother pays the Premier and his wife Olga, as agents for the property.

She explained that the address is part of the estate of the late Willard Scott, the Premier?s cousin. Mrs. Williams has lived in the property since 1964 and Mrs. Samuels and her husband moved in recently as, like her mother, they have nowhere else to live.

?My husband and I have to go outside to shower under a pipe and my mother has to go to a friend?s house. She?s too old to stand outside and we have no hot water,? she said.

?At one time, Mr. Scott wanted to put my mother?s rent up to $500 and I disputed that, saying that she doesn?t have any water to drink or bathing facilities.

?I don?t think they had even looked around the house, but my mother called Alex Scott himself and he said ?don?t worry about it? and the rent stayed at $300.

?I don?t think they realise what a state it?s in but I don?t think my mother should be paying rent for a house like this. Mr. and Mrs. Scott need to come here and see the conditions.

?My mother doesn?t like trouble, she?s a Christian, but it?s having an effect on her health not bathing and not having drinking water.?

Mrs. Samuels added that she had paid $1,500 to fix her mother?s water pump in order for her to have drinkable water, but that she had no response when she contacted the Premier and his wife to ask for money towards this.

She said she was also concerned that the house might be sold as she has heard that Mrs. Scott is bringing in an agent to see the house in the near future.

?I think they might be selling the house because of me kicking up about the condition of it,? she said.

Sheelagh Cooper, chairman of the Family Selection and Support Committee of the Habitat for Humanity charity, has also criticised the Premier about the situation.

?We were made aware of the situation and were about to put our Habitat for Humanity resources in that direction because we felt there must be significant poverty involved for the house to be in that state. In the process, we discovered it was owned by the Premier?s family. At that point we were shocked to discover this, but you can hardly justify committing charitable funds to someone that wealthy,? she said.

?We are, however, very concerned about the old lady involved. When we discover that landlords in this country are this irresponsible and that that now reaches the very top of the ?food chain? so to speak, it?s a concern to anyone.

?I just wonder where the social agenda fits in here??

When contacted the Premier?s wife, Olga Scott, she said that the house was owned by her husband?s brother, James Scott, and that she manages the property and collects the rent on his behalf.

She said she was not aware of any problems with conditions at the address, but confirmed that she had not done an inspection since she took over the management around a year ago, explaining: ?I have only gone as far as inside the door as Mrs. Williams is very private.?

She said that the rent had remained at $300 a month since 1984 on the basis of an understanding that Mrs. Williams would be responsible for doing any repair work necessary.

?If there was anything major, Mrs. Williams would inform me. She has not called us, and she would call if there was an issue,? said Mrs. Scott.

She added that Mrs. Samuels and her husband had moved in despite the lease saying that the property is for one person and said she informed Mrs. Samuels on Monday morning that she was getting an agent to administer the property and that an inspection will be arranged.

Despite Mrs. Williams having a letter regarding the property on Alex Scott?s headed notepaper, Mrs. Scott stressed that it is she, not her husband who is responsible for the property.

?Mrs. Williams is a very private person, and this is an issue that has come from a relative who is trying to tarnish my husband?s political position and I resent it,? she said.

?The tenants of our other properties can say that the Scott properties are in good condition. If there?s the need for repairs, why didn?t this lady move her mother out with her rather than moving in with her mother??