Housing activist Sheelagh Cooper had high hopes when the PLP first won power in Bermuda.

But in nine years she has seen the housing problem spiral out of control amid seeming indifference from the party which had promised so much.

Mrs. Cooper says little has been done by Government and when a private entity with a philanthropic bent offers a solution, if land can be provided, the ball is dropped.

She recalls the "fiasco" with HarbourSide Village. Three years ago a developer with a track record in building low cost homes in the States offered to build nearly 200 homes at Marginal Wharf, St. David's.

One half would be sold at a market rate to help subsidise another 98 to be sold at $199,000 to winners of a lottery. International business would finance the scheme which would eventually pay for itself.

All Government had to do was provide the land and waive duty on building materials. The Developers — Homes for People — boasted the homes could be put up in just a day, once they got hold of the land.

They never did. They waited and waited. As the start date loomed nearer and nearer the business tenants of Marginal Wharf had still not been given notice or provided with an alternative location.

Not surprisingly they stayed put and the start date came and went and so did Bermuda Homes for People, which collapsed in September 2005.

And so Government took over the project which was virtually slashed in half.

Housing Minister David Burch said HarbourSide Village, now renamed HarbourView Village, will be ready in "early 2009" — three year's late for 110 families.

Mrs. Cooper said: "To me it is a travesty that Government claims to be committed to partnering with the private sector, has tremendous opportunities to do so but in each case where there has been effort by the private sector then Government has failed abysmally.

"This Government doesn't negotiate in good faith — just look at the cement fiasco as an example of this."

It goes on. She said when Habitat for Humanity approached Government with the offer to build and finance multi-storey housing units for sale and even offer no-interest loans to buyers there was no take up.

"All we have asked for is the land — and we have identified several potential locations and in each government has failed to come to any kind of agreement. It is outrageous.

"But we can't do it unless Government provides the land. This has been going on for two or three years.

"I have wrote and wrote asking for a meeting with Lt. Col. Burch to absolutely no affect. Nothing has transpired, it is very frustrating. I have not heard a reason."

One potential site is the very plot which the Coalition for the Protection of Children occupies in Mount Hill, Pembroke after moving in on a peppercorn rent under the former UBP Government under a 25-year lease.

She said the huge, largely unoccupied car park offered space but a much longer lease was required to make building viable.

"We could provide condos for as many as 30 families. But we are not able to get a favourable response from Government. To me that is reflective of complete inertia.

"We see a lot of talk but very little action. You will find more homelessness now than in 1998."

She said it wasn't unusual to see three or four families crammed into one house — a stressful situation which meant many were continually on the move.

And she said once Government found out about overcrowding, families were turned out.

It wasn't what Mrs. Cooper expected from a PLP Government she had helped elect.

"I am shocked. In 1998, I actively fund raised and supported the PLP because of their stated commitment to helping the working poor. It was an important thing to do so I am devastated by the results.

"I have seen a labour government that has virtually turned its back on the people that need them the most."

She said wages had fallen way behind the cost of living at the bottom end.

"I have to ask where are the trade unions? We haven't seen any real activity on that."

Bermudians were priced out of those jobs as hotels and restaurants staffed up with cheaper foreign labour, said Mrs. Cooper while working families could not sustain themselves.

"I would expect a labour government to be sensitive to that. I have not seen that. I have seen black elitism, people at the very top of the economic scale enjoying all the benefits without supporting those who elected them."

Now another PLP manifesto is out promising action.

The PLP have pledged to build 550 homes in the next five years. Some projects are already in progress and some, like the HarbourView Village, are much delayed.

And one of the largest ones, the 100-unit Rockaway project for seniors, appears to have little to do with Government. Built by the Bermuda Housing Trust with a loan and donation from the Bank of Bermuda, Government's only involvement was the donation of land.

The PLP have also pledged to loan interest-free down-payments to help 500 Bermudian families buy homes. Mr. Burch indicated that loans would be a maximum of $70,000.

Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) tenants will get first option and then others will get a chance to apply.

Government's plan to gear BHC rents to a quarter of a family's income has already been started in projects at Anchorage Villas in St. George's and Butterfield Lane in Sandys and will be expanded to all tenants who are not in arrears when their leases come up.

But Mrs. Cooper said: "The promises that are being made lack credibility when you have nine years to really do something and we kept seeing nothing. It's smoke and mirrors."

She is not the only one expressing scepticism.

Thirty-one-year old Tracy (not her real name) is living with her mum and the father of two of her children. But her youngest children are in foster care after authorities deemed she could not afford to look after them.

"They don't believe the place I am living is adequate for my kids," she said.

Tracy owes Bermuda Housing Corporation several thousand dollars which bars her from getting one of their apartments and she is struggling with huge debts owed to others.

She's not happy with the Government's record on housing and while she's been voting PLP all her young life, that party will not get her vote this time.

She doesn't feel comfortable doing it but she will switch to the UBP tomorrow. "The issue right now is trying to find affordable housing. The rents out there now — I can't afford any of it."

She thinks $1,500 is the most she can pay as she has to pay child support now her kids are in foster care while her debts are directly deducted which halves her weekly wage to just $300 a week while her husband makes another $600.

"The most reasonable have seen — I can't afford it but I am going to view it anyway — is $2,700 for three bedrooms in St. David's. But my family is from Somerset."

The United Bermuda Party, however, has plans for low interest mortgages with no down payment for low income families allowing first time buyers to get a low cost mortgage to buy a $400,000 home for less than $2,500 a month.

The UBP would also relax Planning rules to encourage multiple units in high density areas and modular building methods to deliver low-cost housing in the $350,000 to $450,000 range.

Government's ability to get a deal from finance institutions will help secure low interest monthly payments.

Unlike the PLP's scheme, the low mortgage plan will not be limited to a lottery of just 500 people. Housing spokesman Jon Brunson said: "These are low interest mortgages with no down payment. One of the problems people have is not just paying the down payment but meeting the monthly payments.

"This will be affordable to them."

Other pledges the party has made include building a new emergency housing facility, building 500 new homes for affordable rent, offering duty relief to developers on materials to build low cost homes, and working with financial institutions on rent-to-buy schemes.

Mrs. Cooper is more receptive to the UBP's platform.

"I like the rent-to-buy idea. At the end of the day these folks need to have some equity otherwise the situation is never going to change from one generation to the next. You will never have a ghetto as long as people own their own homes."

Mr. Brunson said tenants who wanted to take part could have their monthly payments go toward buying chunks of equity. And he believes his party's position on housing could be the difference on Tuesday because of the believability factor.

"We have always said the PLP had a dismal record on housing Bermudians — now we have seen a lot of scrambling around," he said. "You have heard more in the last two to three weeks on housing than the whole time they have been in power."

His party has pledged to break ground on the first homes for affordable rent which sounds a tall order.

Asked if it was possible Mr. Brunson said: "I think it is. Government has the land. These are for rent so it is not like Government will be selling the land."

He cited Tudor Hill in Southampton as a possible site. But Minister Burch is doubtful and said the UBP would find it takes "a little bit longer than a 100 days" from having an idea about building something to starting it. He concedes housing is the biggest issue of the election, naturally claiming his party is in the best position to assist.

The UBP are promising 500 homes for affordable rent while the PLP's 550 home pledge includes a lot of houses for sale. Probed on the difference, Sen. Burch gave the example of the Loughlands project which would see families vacating rented property when they moved in.

"You will have the knock-on effect of rental units coming on line which will not only provide the ability for people to rent but have an impact on the cost of rentals in the country.

"What is driving it through the roof is the demand far outstrips the supply. Once you crack that problem, prices will plummet and Government will not have to provide out of its own resources for every single need in the country. People will be able to play in the open market."

He said it would also reduce the high prices of buying a house. Asked if Government had done enough to satisfy the voters, he said: "We will know on Tuesday."

He said other factors had fuelled the housing demand.

"The greatest concern for me is people need to stop getting divorced," he said. "That is the greatest reason why we have to increase the housing stock. If you get divorced you are looking at one more household. And we have a chronic divorce rate in this country."

However, Government's statistics show there are fewer divorces now than 20 years ago despite a rising population. In 1991, when Bermuda's population stood at 58,000, 195 divorces were granted, last year Bermuda had a population of 64,000 while the divorce rate had fallen to 164.

Asked about divorce as a possible reason for the housing shortage, Mrs. Cooper retorted: "That's nonsense. He's grasping for justification for the lack of action and putting the responsibility back on the people.

"There are a lot of factors at play but probably the biggest one is the gap between the wages of the lower third and the cost of living. That is a gap that is unacceptable in a community like this."