If there is a collapse in house prices, high vacancy rates etc as a result of the virus's economic impacts and property investors can't meet their obligations to their bank etc then there should be no bail-out or assistance from government. There is risk in these scenarios that investors took when entering the market, like all investments.
But this is different, the market has been distorted by the government. The government has directly interfered in the market allowing tenants not to pay rent, not adhere to their responsibilities laid out in the lease and stopped the landlords power to evict them. The government has negated the legal contract of the lease between the landlord and tenant in favor of one party. The landlord is now not allowed to re-lease their property or even sell their property because their tenant can not be removed. The landlord's only course of action is to attempt to defer payments to the bank who will still capitalise their loans costing the landlord as he continues to pay council rates, repairs etc. THey have been locked into an income losing asset by the government and can't event liquidate their asset and leave the market.
The government has effectively turned landlords into public housing where they are forced to house persons with no control over their own asset. Any property investor entering the market faces risks in relation house prices, vacancies etc but it is unreasonable to expect them to lose control of their asset, operate at a loss and not be able to exit their investment.
I actually support a moratorium on evictions, but believe it should be accompanied with a rental subsidy for the purpose of helping renters pay their rent. Property investors are not public housing.
