Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation (WBHDC) have launched a pilot program to assist uninsured or under-insured residents who lost their homes in the wildfire.
This pilot project would allow fire victims to purchase a home, the program is an extension of an existing program that use to be only available to first-time home buyers.
“Our Board of Directors is making it a priority to offer help to a group hard-hit by the wildfire,” said Henry Hunter, Wood Buffalo Housing’s President and CEO. “We have been able to take a program that has already seen us help more than 350 people to their goal of home ownership and adapt it to create this pilot project.”
To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:
- Homes must have been damaged or destroyed by the fire or during the efforts of fighting the wildfire
- Damaged homes must first apply to the NGO’s Supporting Uninsured, Underinsured Recovery (NSUUR) for assistance in repairing their home
- Provide evidence of home ownership as shown on the RMWB tax rolls
- Prove that the home was owner-occupied at the time of the fire (no revenue properties)
- Program covers one home per family
- Show evidence that they had no insurance or were under insured on the affected home
- Surrender all rights to the lot on which their damaged or destroyed house was located to their financial institution
Hunter also noted that as recovery continues and the community starts to rebound they want to make sure they’re able to help as many people as possible.
To apply to the program you can call 780-799-4050 or email homeownership@wbhadc.ca.
