2021 Covid season and renters not paying rent

[Edwin Zamora]

Hi Biggerpockets!  Newbie here. 
Some back story to where my question of the day comes from. During Christmas i got together with family and was telling one of my family members how Im looking for a building to house hack. He immediately tried to put me off the idea and started telling me his horror story of how he had to sell his 3flat in 2021 because his renters stoped paying rent during Covid. Of course me having some knowledge from bigger pockets, I immediately noticed the mistakes he made. I patiently listened and didn’t say anything knowing his ego would be bruised if I mentioned anything and he probably wouldn’t give me any details.
It turns out he was house hacking but his cash flow was practically nonexistent. He only made $200 above the mortgage. He also did not accountant for vacancies, maintenance, and repairs so the rent that he was getting was immediately going to pay off the mortgage and the other $200 he considered it profit so he didn’t have any of that saved up. So as soon as his renters stopped paying he started to drown in debt so he ended up cutting his losses and selling the property for a loss. 
I have a question for those who have or had properties during Covid. 
What was your situation like? 
Did your renters stop paying at any point in time? 
If so how did you move forward after that?
Were there any programs in place to help renters with rent?
How were evictions processed during Covid? 

Thank you for any and all responses!