Fort McMurray wildfire evacuees offered cheap or free rent across Alberta

Many landlords across Alberta are lowering their rent simplybecause of the sluggish economy, but manyothers are doing it as a way tohelp Fort McMurraywildfireevacuees.

There are hundreds of free unitsavailable to evacuees, no strings attached.

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"We're not going to cap it, I mean, people need the spaces so we'll rent to them,orgive it to them until they want to start renting them," said David McIlveen with Boardwalk Rental Communities.

He said they've already filled more than 340 units in Edmonton and Calgaryat no cost to evacuees, and that they won't start charging until the end of June, when the cost wil be 25 per cent off the regular rent.

'It just felt right'

A Help FortMcMurraypage on rentfaster.calistedmore than 550 discounted propertiesacross the province as of Monday afternoon.

Phillip Smith and his wife lost their home in the Fort McMurray wildfire, but found a couple online offering cheap rent.

"We're fortunate where we are right now, it's not like we're on the street, you know?" he said.

Vicky Brochu isoffering a free room in the home she shares with her fiancee and six-month-old son.

She said she felt compelled to offer the space after some people from Fort McMurray helped them financiallyafter her fiancee was attacked by a grizzly bear last year and couldn't work.

"Offering a room for free that, one, we're not using, and two, doesn't cost us anything, it just felt right, it just felt like it was the right thing to do," she said.

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