There's a tried and true rule that I live by. Don't get mad, get even. This being a difficult time, I feel the pain should be shared. If a landlord wanted to play hardball, I would probably disappear, trash the place or make life as difficult as I can for him/her. If a tenant wasn't able to pay, I would give him a break in the rent for a short time or allow to break lease but I would keep the deposit assuming that he/she was a good tenant of course, if not all bets are off and go back to rule #1. I do believe that in most cases you get back what you put into the world.