As much as I want to say yes partnering up for steep local discounts is a safer play

All PG&E, SDG&E, SCE, and community choice aggregation residential customers — except for California Alternate Rates for Energy, or CARE, and Family Electric Rate Assistance or FERA, customers — will have to pay this tax, and it cannot be reduced or avoided, no matter how little energy a household uses.

It makes sense that they're hard to find because most owners go the STR route, but long term leasing might be a reasonable alternative too.    

Having to pay more for what is ours seems unfair.. but its better than the alternative.

It seems evident that this tenant can no longer afford an apartment like this, so this would give them a time to come up with a plan to find an alternative.

I've never heard of a "cash for keys" option as they stated above but it does sounds like the best alternative than waiting for a court date.

It’s an alternative, and not necessarily a good one, to capital call or foreclosure.I think that as a community we need to hold all syndicators accountable to outcomes for investors, yes, but also we need to be practical about what the right thing to do is.A few syndications have handed the keys back, for nearly total wipeouts.

A home equity loan gives you an option of having fixed debt which is safer if you plan on using it to buy a long term rental buy and hold scenario.

., guys lives in his car in the back alley so he can rent out his house as an alternative to losing it because (reasons), is this not his primary residence? 

In fact, even no one else and lose another month of rental income would be a safer option than to allow this person.