I'd be careful about the use of the word illegal. Non payment of a mortgage is a civil issue not a legal issue. What you have here is a 2 pronged situation. The landlord and the tenant have a contract for rent. The lender and the owner have a mortgage contract. The two aren't necessarily connected.
As a landlord myself, I have prospective tenants ask me if I am current on my mortgage. I think that this is GREAT question for prospective tenants to ask me. It shows me a level of accountability from their end. In situations like these, I'd be glad to show them a copy of my payment history. A reputable landlord should have nothing to hide.
This Google Custom search may do a better job of searching the forums for some keywords than the old forum search does. The results do not include threads from the Asset Managers Forum however. To search that forum you will need to be actually in the Asset Managers Forum and you will need to use the old forum search below.