My two cents. At the end of the day no matter what happens, rent is owed on the due date. I completely believe in working with people when absolutely necessary but ultimately the rent is due when it is due, despite what is happening in the economy. This may sound harsh, but people getting sick and/or losing their jobs is just not our problem as landlords. I feel really bad for people in tough situations but to your point, we still have bills and rent forgiveness is a slippery slope. When do you stop? Where is the line? I think getting anywhere near this exposes you to potentially discrimination lawsuits down the road if the tenants are talking and find out they're being treated differently. Truly impossible to treat everyone equal when you start doing this.
I have been fortunate enough to receive all rent in April and expect to receive May as well but most of my tenants know that I expect rent on time. If its late, there's a late fee that won't be forgiven. My stated policy is, I don't chase people for rent, you don't pay, you're gone. In this scenario I would work with people the best I can through the end of this hold on evictions and then if they are not getting their act together they will get the pay or quit (if not sooner).
