Tenant unable to pay for month and seeking help from state
We have a tenant on month-to-month lease in Lacey (Thurston County). He is unable to pay his rent for the month due to spouse's job loss. The spouse has found the job, but they don't have resources to pay for the current month. They are seeking help from State and they think they will be able to qualify thru the Washington's Eviction Resolution Program. If they do, then the State/County pays the rent. The rent is due 1st of the month and if all goes well, then the earliest I can have the rent is middle of the month. They also say that the would be able to resume payments from next month. Questions:
1. Should I serve pay-or-vacate notice and charge all the late fees? Other option is to "trust" and wait, which would mean that I am taking a risk and would have to tap into security deposit if things go ugly.
2. As per the ERP program of Thurston County, landlords are required to provide a payment plan to tenants who are behind on rent 6 months after the Covid-19 emergency has ended. Are other WA landlords serving eviction notices or trying to work with tenant and state due to Covid?
3. If tenant is able to secure help and starts making the payment, is there any legal implication to pay-or-vacate notice or can that be just discarded?