Is the rent free during the epidemic? Does the country have regulations?

The lessee can use the epidemic as an excuse.

Ask the lessor to waive the rent?

In principle, it is not allowed, unless there is an agreement in the contract or a specific subject rents the houses of government departments, universities, research institutes and other state-owned enterprises and administrative institutions for business, and can apply for rent-free for a certain period according to the policy. Pay special attention to the fact that the lessee and non-operating lease of non-state-owned houses do not meet the above rent-free situation.

according to

The first paragraph of Article 6 of "Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Proper Trial of Civil Cases Involving the COVID-19 Epidemic (II)" stipulates that if small and micro enterprises, individual industrial and commercial households and other lessees in the service industry have operational difficulties due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, universities and research institutes that lease houses of state-owned enterprises and houses of administrative institutions such as government departments request lessors to waive rents for a certain period of time in accordance with relevant state policies, and the people's courts shall support them.