complaints over a proposed rent increase. They appealed to the Hon. Quinton Edness to tie any hike to the cost of living.

Mr. Edness had turned up to a meeting of Bermuda Housing Corporation tenants with a compromise deal. But his proposal was shot down at last night's meeting in St. Augustine Hall, Pembroke -- and he was told to think again.

Mr. Edness had told tenants they would now face a 12.5 percent rise from August 1 -- and not 19.4 percent. In addition, BHC rents would not be set at market levels, as originally planned.

Mr. Edness went on to urge any people who could not afford a 12.5 percent increase to go to the BHC offices and present their case. That way an arrangement could be sorted out to meet their needs -- either hard-up families could receive financial assistance, or rental subsidy could be boosted, he explained.

The new deal, however, received an overwhelming thumbs-down from the tenants, who mainly came from Fentons Drive, Pembroke.

Many tenants, who presented their arguments forcefully but with good humour, stressed the BHC homes were designed for low-income families.

And they won backing from Shadow Housing Minister Mr. Nelson Bascome, who also attended the meeting, along with BHC general manager Mr. Edwin Cowen and the corporation's manager of Properties and Rentals, Mr. Tudor Smith.

"You would never get a wage increase of 19.4 percent, or even 12.5 percent,'' said one man. "So why are we being asked to pay this type of increase?'' Mrs. Kay Butterfield asked whether the original BHC housing agreements had laid out how rents would be increased.

And another woman asked Mr. Edness: "What do you consider to be a reasonable rent?'' For Ms Joezine Wolfe, a single mother-of-four, the BHC method of processing applications for homes was a "joke''. She told of her problems, and the endless delays, in getting a place to live.

Several other tenants, meanwhile, voiced concern they would be thrown out of their properties if they could not afford their rents, which are to be increased over three years.

Mr. Edness sought to soothe their fears, pledging nobody would be ejected. But he reminded tenants rent increases were inevitable if the BHC was to stay in business.

He also stressed it was totally unfair for tenants with reasonably-sized incomes to stay in homes which were designed for the hard-up. "They should look for other housing corporation homes, or find a home on the open market.'' Mr. Bascome urged tenants to stick together, saying they had "valid concerns''. He said the proposed rent increases would leave some tenants with their backs to the walls.