Even though the Rental Agreement for our villa contains a "no refund" policy and goes as for as highly recommending travelers obtain travel cancellation insurance, we have offered/already processed full refunds for the six booking we had received through VRBO for the upcoming seven months, essentially wiping out our high season rental revenue. It's very easy for the property owner to initiate the cancellation/refund process and takes less than a minute to accomplish.
Maybe it's just me, but I can't envision keeping someone's money for a product on which I can't deliver, even if the circumstances are completely out of my control. However, he probably doesn't legally have to issue you a refund. Good luck!!