Tenant lost their income

[Sasha Fukuda]

So, i bought a property not that long ago. I'd heard that it had good tenants, so i viewed it as a positive that i inherited the existing tenants. There's just one problem. One of the tenants has had trouble finding work recently. It's somewhat related to covid in that she writes grants for a living, and the economic insecurity of covid has made people more reluctant to donate to charities i guess. She said something like that anyway. She's just not able to find any work in her specialty in this small city in New Hampshire. She also isn't able to get an unskilled job that requires lifting heavy objects, working on your feet for long periods of time, etc. When i first bought the property, the rents were way under market. She was paying $750 for a small two bedroom unit. Now, i'm willing to raise rent gradually for good long term tenants. In addition, i underestimated how quickly market prices would rise in this weird period we're living in. Therefore i only raised it to $850 when it was time to renew the lease. Market rate is currently around $1,100- 1,200. I know i cost myself money, but i think i'm ok with that, because if i had jacked up rent i don't think she would have had anywhere to go. However, the problem that has arisen is that in the last few months, she's consistently paid rent late/ mid month. Before the due date, she'll tell me exactly when she'll be able to make the payment, she always follows thru, and she always pays the $50 late fee without question. However, she's still paying mid month every month because she can't find steady work. I'm concerned that a single financial emergency may set her off track completely. Also, the weather is getting cold, and she'll soon be paying heating bills. I can picture this situation getting worse and worse. 

I've thought about asking her to look into section 8, but i was trying to avoid renting to anyone with section 8. I don't want to be subject to additional rules and regulations. I also thought about covid relief, but don't know whether she'd qualify, and if she did, i suspect it would be a one time payment that wouldn't solve the underlying problem. She also got angry with me the last time i brought up the subject, which makes me hesitant to discuss it with her in the future. Part of me wants to sit back and do nothing until things get worse, but part of me feels like i should be more proactive. Any advice would be appreciated.