“Surely you're better off having a tenant in there to be able to pay something rather than having nobody in there – a guaranteed income of zero."

Ms Beveridge said hundreds of tenants were contacting the union each week saying they were struggling to pay the rent. About a quarter of those had been issued with eviction notices.

“Thirty per cent of the Victorian population lives in rental housing. That's a lot of people who are potentially feeling insecure,” she said.

“The Prime Minister's telling us to stay at home. But how can people stay at home when they've got an eviction notice?”

Like many tenants contacting Tenants Victoria, 43-year-old chef Miguel Bernardo has lost his job in the pandemic and he has no prospects of finding a new one, with restaurants, pubs and cafes shut.

Despite the Prime Minister’s promise that no one will be “thrown out of their homes”, his landlord is threatening to evict him and his eight-year-old son from their Ivanhoe unit.

“I’ve never paid my rent late. I've never had trouble finding a job or a house,” Mr Bernardo said.

“But, now, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It leaves me anxious and stressed.”

The states have been scrambling to draft legislation to realise the Prime Minister’s promise.

NSW has passed legislation paving the way for the housing minister to ban evictions.

In Victoria, legislation is expected to be part of an omnibus bill dealing with a vast array of coronavirus emergency responses. However, it is not clear when the parliament will next sit.

Without a clear policy base and process for the moratorium, senior Victorian government figures have conceded the drafting of legislation is messy.

A myriad of departments, agencies and lobbies are seeking to influence the contents of the Victorian bill, including Treasury and the real estate industry.

Senior sources have confirmed that a freeze on rents is also being considered.

"We know this is an incredibly difficult time for renters and landlords and we’re working hard to get an effective resolution for everyone as quickly as possible,” Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz said in a statement to The Age.

Unlike other renters who are refusing to pay at all, Mr Bernardo calculated he could afford to pay 50 per cent of his rent using JobSeeker payments.

He attempted to negotiate a temporary reduction with his landlord through real estate agency Love & Co Thornbury, but his request was ignored.

Instead, he was informed if he didn’t pay the full amount in 14 days, he would be ordered to vacate.

“You would think this would be reasonable in times like this,” Mr Bernardo said.

The agency sent him a generic letter suggesting he contact his bank, Centrelink and superannuation fund, the latter of which the corporate regulator has since warned is illegal.

It also recommended he contact homeless support service Launch Housing, who have paid half his rent for this month only.

Launch chief executive Bevan Warner said the organisation had seen a sharp increase in calls from renters experiencing hardship for the first time in their lives.

He said referrals from real estate agencies refusing to negotiate with tenants were overwhelming the already stretched service.

“We’re … wanting to respond in a constructive and helpful way to meet demand that wouldn't be there if the government just was absolutely clear,” he said.

"It's just adding to our overburden and stopping us from doing [other] really important work."

Leah Calnan is president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, and an agent whose company oversees 2200 rental properties.

She said that while tenants faced great uncertainty, many landlords also faced challenging circumstances.

“Many are trying to provide support to their tenant when financially they might not be able to; it is emotionally heartbreaking for both parties,” she said.