Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If the landlords didn't want to deal with loans then they should have paid cash for the properties. If the tenants didn't want to pay rent, they should not have signed leases. Why is it that tenants can get a break on their obligations but landlords can't? Why are tenants more deserving of help? Most landlords are not rich. They are providing a service to their tenants, who cannot afford to purchase buildings and w…
> A renter signs a contract promising to pay rent. They should use the force majeure clause to terminate their contracts and the landlords could sue if they don't like that. A pandemic is not unlike a flood or earthquake. This is exactly why such a clause exists in contracts. My boss negotiates a lower rent during a crisis. It’s fair enough. Would the landlord prefer a smaller amount to none at all?
As was explained a week or so ago by somebody in that business on Reddit: for commercial real estate, many landlords would prefer none at all over a smaller amount, because the loan is written with the assumption of a certain rent per unit, and if the average rent goes down, it breaches the loan conditions and the loan is revoked (or something like that.)