The number of Bermuda Housing Corporation clients looking for an affordable home has dropped by almost 25 per cent, the quango’s chief executive has revealed.

Paul Martin made the revelation at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 12 new affordable homes in Paget yesterday.

Flanked by housing minister Zane DeSilva and David Burt, the Premier, Mr Martin said: “We’ve been going through that whole list and revamping and questioning people that are there and that list has actually come down to about 340 to 350 right now.

“It’s come down from 452, so we’re making progress.”

Work on the dozen new studio and one-bedroom apartments at Harmony Terrace East began 18 months ago and has been completed under budget.

Tenants are expected to move in by the end of this month and will pay a monthly rent of $1,100 for a studio and $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment.

Studios average 350 sq ft in size, while one-bedroom apartments average 500 sq ft.

Mr DeSilva said: “Although small, these efficient units are a significant step towards addressing demands for affordable housing in Bermuda.”

The block is one of several that make up the Harmony Club campus. Three of the new properties will be occupied by tenants who were living in another campus block, which is to be renovated.

Mr DeSilva said: “The Harmony Club campus is a vital part of the Government’s Residential Building Programme and continues to be a cornerstone in our mission to increase access to quality and affordable housing for Bermuda’s residents.

“Looking ahead, the next phase will be Harmony Terrace North, which is slated to include 16 studio units. We look forward to sharing further details on the timeline and commencement of this phase soon.”

He added: “While this announcement is positive news, we know that more affordable housing is needed and the Government is committed to this effort.

“As such, I am pleased to report that work is taking place in other areas around the island, including Battery Road in St David’s, Chelsea Apartments in St George and Middle Town Terrace in Pembroke.”

Referring to the work carried out by the BHC, Mr DeSilva said: “They keep a running list of critical, urgent and needed, and obviously the critical list is the one we try to take care of first. We have those lists in all units.

“We went to be aggressive; we know that our people need homes and we are going to deliver. You can hold us to that.”

Neither Mr Burt nor Mr DeSilva would be drawn on claims made by the Chamber of Commerce last month that, based on statistics, the island needed 2,500 more homes.

Mr Burt said: “I’m not going to engage in guesswork.”

Mr DeSilva responded: “This government, we have one goal and that’s to build as many affordable homes to rent and affordable homes to buy as quickly as we possibly can.

“We have 24 people that have signed up and are interested in putting those homes back into the stock of the BHC and I expect that number to increase fairly quickly.”

Asked if more could be done to encourage construction firms to build cheaper homes, Mr Burt listed a raft of initiatives that the Government had introduced to support the industry, including a reduction of planning red tape and custom duty relief on building materials.

He said: “All of these are around a collective effort of continuing to develop housing.

He added: “The Government cannot do it all alone, it requires the private sector working with the Government.

“From the private sector, BHC has a mandate to provide affordable housing. We’ll work with companies and others to do that.

“There are examples of public-private projects that we’ve done in the past but when I’m speaking about housing in the country more generally, it is not just a question of affordable housing, it is a question of housing — we want to increase the housing stock.”