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Confronted by concerns the economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic will destroy some apartment-dwellers ability to pay rent and fears the state’s new, temporary, eviction ban will give others license to not pay their rent regardless of their economic situation, one of the Massachusetts’ primary landlord organizations says it will lobby Beacon Hill to guarantee all renters’ payments during the coronavirus crisis.

MassLandlords Executive Director Doug Quattrochi made the announcement in a letter to members Thursday following a vote by the group’s board May 1. The move follows calls from the National Multifamily Housing Council Friday for the federal government to step in to help renters make payments.

The group, which counts around 1,800 landlords as members representing 30,000 units, focuses primarily on professional education for landlords of all sizes and other efforts to improve the state’s rental housing.

To address the fears will lobby for what are known as “surety bonds,” which would let the state step in as a payer of last resort when a renter is unable to pay for their housing. Quattrochi, a regular contributor to Banker & Tradesman’s opinion page, outlined the idea in a March column.

A recent survey of MassLandlords members showed 22 percent were afraid they would not be able to meet their own monthly bills this month, which include mortgage and property tax payments.