ARE YOU LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ‘A POP-UP BROTHEL’?
Prostitution gangs using short-term lets to exploit vulnerable women
SHORT-TERM letting is enabling the phenomenon of ‘pop-up brothels’ to appear across the capital, a former minister has claimed.
Apartments rented for use as temporary brothels is an increasingly widespread practice which is leading to security issues for residents, Senator Kevin Humphreys of the Labour Party said yesterday.
Security sources told the Irish Daily Mail last night the problem is not confined to Dublin, but also extends further afield. Women working in these brothels are often exploited and abused.
Mr Humphreys declared in the Seanad that in one block in Dublin 2, ‘more than half of the apartments are available
for short-term letting. Recently, one of those apartments was used as a pop-up brothel’.
The senator later told the Mail: ‘Short-let websites are facilitating this situation. For the weekend that this particular brothel was operating – and in a block largely populated by old people – at least a hundred customers were going up and down in the lift. And there was a lot of noise and nuisance.
‘A 60-year-old lady who reported it noted that the business was being carried on by two young ladies. And she then found out, by investigating online with her son, that the two women involved were operating the next week from another apartment in Temple Bar. And that apartment was also on a short-term let.’
The former junior minister for Employment, Community and Social Support, added: ‘From my understanding, this is happening across the city as pop-up brothels appear with no warning to residents. And I would imagine the same thing must be going on in other cities around the country.’
Security sources in the capital and Kildare confirmed ‘pop-up brothels’ are becoming more prevalent. Two sources based at different Garda stations on the south- side of Dublin city said gardaí are often contacted by residents complaining about these brothels.
One source said: ‘The modus operandi [for the brothels] is to get a short-term lease, stay a few weeks or months, then move on to the next place.’
A separate source in south Dublin city said the criminals involved in prostitution focus on getting short-term leases.
‘It is widespread. This is the best way for gangs to operate as they are gone so quickly. Gardaí are often called to these apartments when there are complaints of rows. Often the women are being physically abused,’ said the source.
It is understood that gardaí in Kildare have also dealt with various ‘pop-up brothels’.
‘Yes, it is an issue in Kildare, particularly in large apartment blocks. In some cases, they sign a 12-month lease and then leave after a couple of months, leaving the place in disrepair. The landlord then contacts the gardaí, but often it’s the neighbours.’
Sarah Benson, CEO of antitrafficking charity Ruhama, told the Mail they have seen the use of short-term lets rise as prostitution becomes an ‘increasingly mobile trade’.
‘Organised gangs have a number of lets or sub-lets across the country and move women from place to place to meet demand,’ she said.
‘The more women are moved, the more difficult it is for them to become aware of and access health and other support services, particularly as the vast majority are migrants and not English speakers. We have seen the use of short-term lettings increasing, but they are not the only way prostitution is organised... We see other means such as massage parlours and hotels being used.’
In February, it was reported that, in the US, one of the leading facilitators of shortterm letting, Airbnb, was investing in new technology to prevent traffickers from potentially using its properties as temporary brothels.
Nick Shapiro, the global head of trust and risk management at Airbnb, was reported as saying the company was joining forces with anti-trafficking charity Polaris to combat the exploitation of women and children. Last night, a spokesman for Airbnb told the Mail: ‘While we’ve had no reports from any Irish authorities on issues of this nature, we have zero tolerance for inappropriate or illegal activity and permanently remove bad actors from our platform.’
The discussion of pop-up brothels arose during a debate in the Seanad yesterday about how short-term lettings are limiting the availability of housing stock to people living in Dublin full time.
Senator Humphreys told the Seanad that short-term letting is leading to security issues for residents and urged Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and Junior Minister Damien English to accelerate the publication of proposals to regulate the industry. He said short-term letting ‘affects not only the housing crisis but people who bought homes and who then do not feel secure... owing to the constant re-let of apartments and the passing on of [security] codes.’
Acting chairwoman, Catherine Noone, told the House the proposals will be published in the next two weeks.
While researching the Airbnb site, Mr Humphreys found ‘60 units being let by seven hosts, all of them short-term lets, ranging from €2,100 per month for a one- bedroom apartment to €4,300 a month’.
The failure to take action on the issue was disgraceful, he said, as the State faces the highest rate of childhood homelessness in decades.
‘Complaints about problems’
‘Vast majority are migrants’