—My landlord wasn’t paying his mortgage for four years on the place I was renting before it hit the courthouse steps.—
Heh. My daughter was renting a condo in downtown Seattle. When she found out the owner was being foreclosed on she stopped paying rent. Over a year...
Well your daughter is fortunate. The owner is leaving money on the table.
He could evict and find a paying tenant. His being delinquent does not reduce his ability to evict.