An announcement by the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation may give some Fort McMurray resident much needed rent relief. According to the organization tenants will receive rent relief for May and June, with relief starting May 3 which was the first say that the mandatory evacuation for the area was put into place because of the wildfire emergency. The press release also reported that at minimum the rent relief would cover May and June but there is a possibility that this could be extended at some point. During the vote the board members of the WBHDC voted unanimously to provide the relief. It is nice to see the board members do the right thing for tenants and the community because many people are already struggling with the loss of property and the expense of relocating during the mandatory evacuation.

In addition to rent relief for at least two months the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation has announced that all of their tenants will have a home which they can come back to. For tenants who resided in property which was damaged or destroyed during the wildfire they will be relocated into suitable housing in other properties controlled by the organization. Maggie Farrington, the board chair of the organization, explained “Though the law states we are legally entitled to collect rents, even during such a terrible disaster, the Board felt strongly we had a moral obligation not to impose additional hardship upon our tenants who have already suffered so much.” Acting CEO of WBHDC Greg Elsasser stated “Though our losses to the wildfire were restricted to townhomes in Beacon Hill and our recently completed Siltstone project in Timberlea. People who have lost their homes will be relocated immediately into appropriate accommodations in one of our other properties. Looking after existing tenants is our first priority.”