At least in the US, there are more systems in place to help people who are behind. Lenders are more apt to do a modification then risk another market collapse.
And, I would be willing to bet our current administration will be happy to do what they can. A failure to contain the situation will not be good for them -or- their donors.
One thing we are already seeing; the CFPB is putting in safeguards in that will likely delay a number of foreclosures even further [0]. Another change is FHFA loans being eligible for interest rate reductions that wouldn't be possible under the LTV.
How this 'smoothing' plays out remains to be seen.
[0] https://www.housingwire.com/articles/cfpbs-roadmap-for-the-f...
That's not always what happens, and in the case of COVID in particular, many will have it tacked to the end of their mortgage.
see #3 "Lengthen your loan term and pay off the missed amount at the end of the extended loan term, with additional mortgage payments" [0]
[0] https://themortgagereports.com/69687/cares-act-mortgage-forb...
Same goes for rent moratorium. Do people think that their landlord is just going to forget the 1 year of rent they didn't pay because "they didn't have to"?? Evictions are going to sky rocket and rentors are going to be sued in numbers we may have never seen before.