The fairest solution would be for tenants to pay as much as they can instead of the government declaring that all tenants in the nation are incapable of paying

The fairest solution would be for tenants to pay as much as they can instead of the government declaring that all tenants in the nation are incapable of paying the entirety of their rent for the foreseeable future (because this is obviously false, some tenants can pay all or their rent, some of them can pay some of it). You are correct here. The only caveat is that ownership of financial assets including real estate is inherently risky. A monthly rent to retain the right to use a financial asset is in many ways the opposite, both for the reasons of not being liable for the underlying asset in addition to the variety of tenant rights in this county. Your guy assumed these risks when he purchased his 3 properties. An abhorrent attitude is emerging in the United States among the ownership class. They feel they are entitled to steady, eternal returns on their financial assets, equity, real estate or otherwise. Concurrently the labor class has no guarantee of a right to steady, eternal income through sale of their time and energy. In nature, ownership of anything is no guarantee of receiving from it productive benefits. We would be wise as Americans to remember this when we expect anything more from the civil society we inhabit.