In a housing crisis? Let me help you

A renter herself, she was shocked at how rents have escalated. Now she is offering herself as an advocate for people with housing problems. For a nominal fee ÷ she says less than $100 ÷ she will act as a go-between for tenants, many of whom are afraid to confront their landlords because of fear theyâll be asked to move.

She has taken out a newspaper ad asking tenants who are paying rent for an ãunacceptable living spaceä or who are ãnot sure what to doä to call her. She received 20 telephone calls in three days.

Mrs. Tucker, who decided to take up law after retiring from the prison service, said: ãA lot of people in this country donât know what the law is. They donât have a written contract. Iâve spoken to people who have moved into a place and the landlord hasnât given them an assessment number. They are afraid if they speak up too many times, the landlord will tell them to move.ä

She added: ãPeopleâs rent goes up on a regular basis. The question is ÷ is it a legal increase or illegal?ä

She cited a case where a tenant without a written contract pays rent on a monthly basis. But halfway through the month, the rent is increased, and the landlord is threatening to change the locks if the tenant balks.

In that case, she advises them of their right to have the rent maintained at its current level until the end of the month.

Then thereâs the tenant who is renting a room for $1,300 a month. But the circumstances under which he is renting are ãdeplorable.ä

She said a service like hers is needed because the Rent Commissionerâs office is so busy and tenants are at a disadvantage generally in Bermuda because of the lack of affordable housing.

She said she finds the comments of some Bermudian landlords ãdisturbingä.

ãPeople with places tell me straight:â I am not going to be renting to Bermudians.âä

Others leave their places unoccupied because they donât want to be bothered with tenants. She says the Bermudian tenants she knows are working people who just want a fair chance. They are not the proverbial ãwall sitters.ä

But many non-Bermudian tenants are in the same boat and she can help them out as well.

Mrs. Tucker said that in the U.K, the Government is required to provide housing for people who are evicted and declared homeless.

Asked whether she thought that should be the case here, she said: ãItâs a different system. I donâ t know if Bermuda would want to embrace that.ä

Mrs. Tucker stressed she is not giving legal advice ÷ she canât because she hasnât completed her legal training, but she can inform people of their rights.

Mrs. Tucker has been a homeowner and is familiar with landlord- tenant issues because her father is a landlord and she has done a lot of his business.

She is planning to return to the U.K. complete her legal practice, but sees what she is doing now as her way of helping ãthe little manä.

Explaining that she is a Christian, she said: ãThereâs a lot of affluence in this country. Are we going to give back? I have to do my part· Itâs been a blessing to get this education. If I can help someone along the way, then my living wonât be in vain.ä

Mrs. Tucker can be reached on 747-2842 between 9 a.m. and noon.

PHOTO: Taking calls: Gloria Tucker wants to to ease the

housing plight of struggling Bermudians. *Photo by Leah Furbert

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