SOME of the nation's High Court Judges are living in substandard conditions because the Government has not been maintaining their houses.

The Government houses have not been repaired or painted in years, the judges said.

They said some of the houses leak and whenever it rains they have had to set "pans" to catch the water flowing from the roofs.

Two judges were forced to move from Government houses in the last two years because of the dilapidated condition of the houses. The houses were vandalised shortly after.

Some of the judges told The Sunday Gleaner that they have offered to buy the houses in which they live, but have received no favourable response from the relevant authority. The judges said they felt that if they purchased the houses they could refurbish them so that they could live comfortably.

"If I use my money to refurbish the Government house in which I live it is not likely that I will be reimbursed, therefore I cannot take that chance," one judge said.

The situation has forced some judges to buy houses in Kingston, although some of them say they had planned to buy them outside the Corporate Area so they could enjoy peace and quiet when they retire.

On being asked why they did not rent houses instead, some of the judges said the $30,000 monthly given for housing allowance was not enough to do so.

The situation is no different among Resident Magistrates.

Most of the Resident Magistrates are forced to live in the Corporate Area because houses are not provided for them in the parishes where they are assigned.

One of the Resident Magistrates explained that there were only about four suitable houses outside of Kingston for Resident Magistrates.

The Resident Magistrate said each parish had at least two Resident Magistrates, therefore most of them were forced to rent houses or journey to and from Kingston daily.