Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: Rental home in trust

Fishy Indeed! It reminds me of the Louden Wainwright song "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road", "stinking to high heaven". Don't be hit by that station wagon car.

Trusts will take other forms of payment - the landlord/manager/trustee is probably skimming, or at least not reporting to Uncle Sam. To repeat, I think the rental agent is skimming and when he is caught, all bets as to your friend's tenancy are off. Everything the agent has done can be undone because of the agent's (probable) fraud. If your friend does not have a lease, he has no rights and without a receipt or cancelled checks he has no proof he has ever paid anything at all. He probably won't find as good a deal, but guess why.

Tell him to run, do not walk, run, away. He doesn't want to be caught in the splash when, not if, the agent is caught. When the agent feels a breath on his neck he will vanish and your friend will be on the street.

Honest people do not mind leaving metaphorical footprints.