doesn't want tenants to "cheat the system''.

But she said homes on the former US base in St. David's would be made available as "affordable housing'' by September.

And the Bermuda Housing Corporation moved to reassure tenants that nobody would be evicted during the present rents crisis unless they showed "an extreme level of irresponsibility''.

Groups of Government and private tenants have demonstrated against rent hikes and evictions in a crisis which has placed the spotlight on Housing Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge .

Government rents are jumping almost 12 percent from $1,053 to $1,179 a month.

But Ms Gordon told the House of Assembly on Monday night that Government would work out a formula requiring poorer tenants only to pay 25 or 28 percent of their income towards rent.

"We will work out a formula which outlines exactly what an income is and then the Government will pay the difference,'' she said.

"You get all kinds of people trying to cheat the system if they know they can get away with paying a lesser rent.

"It's the Government's responsibility to ensure that every person within the community can live in dignity. We must ensure that people really know what it costs to live in Bermuda rather than give them a false sense of security by lowering the rent.

"Then you will find people trying to find ways of cheating the system so they have more disposable income.'' She said some houses on the old base would be made available, adding: "The people of St. David's don't want to feel that the baselands has become a dumping ground for the Government.

"They are concerned about their housing values and they fear the Government will just throw in people who have been down on their luck and turn it into a ghetto area. "This Government has to be sensitive to those people who have no homes but also those who are working hard to pay their high mortgages. It's a balancing act.

"We are doing what we believe is in the best interests of all Bermudians.'' A statement released by the Bermuda Housing Corporation defended rent costs and claimed subsidies were "much less effective'' than encouraging people to apply through the Housing Assistance Programme (HAP).

And it claimed the BHC set out to fix rents ten percent below the level of a similar private property.

"Tenants who cannot reasonably afford these rents are encouraged to seek their subsidy through HAP,'' it said.

"No tenant is evicted from a Bermuda Housing Corporation property unless they have demonstrated an extreme level of irresponsibility.

"The BHC bends over backwards to ensure that their tenants are properly housed. When tenants lose jobs or fall on hard times, allowances are always made.

"If, however, the Corporation knows that a tenant is able to pay their rent and is simply being irresponsible in not paying rent then this will ultimately lead to eviction, as it should.'' Housing Minister Mr. Woolridge has dismissed a call to resign over the crisis, claiming a special Cabinet committee had been set up and a number of new initiatives would be brought forward.

The People's Coalition for Affordable Housing, which protested in Hamilton last Friday, wants a human rights policy to stop landlords refusing to rent to families.

They are also calling for benefits like child support to be taken out of the HAP means-testing policy.

Pamela Gordon C.V. (Jim) Woolridge