Revealed: How 60,000 women are targeted by sex-for-rent landlords
TENS of thousands of women are still being propositioned by vile landlords offering accommodation in exchange for sexual favours, a new study has found.
Despite recent law changes, sleazy men still use online adverts to entice vulnerable female tenants into sharing a bed or other ‘jobs’. Experts warned the problem is likely to get worse amid spiralling rents and the cost of living crisis.
Polly Neate, chief executive of the housing charity Shelter, said: ‘It’s sickening there are landlords who think they get can get away with sexually exploiting female tenants in need of a home. Keeping a safe roof over their head is only getting harder for women on the lowest incomes.
‘We’re worried even more tenants will be left vulnerable to this vile abuse of power.’
Research by Shelter found that 59,000 women were targeted by current or prospective landlords between March 2020 and last September. Three-quarters of those questioned said they were struggling to afford housing costs.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Mail on Sunday of how she felt forced to take up a ‘sex for rent’ offer. ‘At the time I didn’t have nearly enough money for the deposit to rent even a studio flat,’ she said.
‘The arrangement is that we sleep together when the landlord comes to town. I’m only expected to have sex with him once and then I go back to my own room.’
Websites face fines of up to £50,000 for hosting ‘sex for rent’ advertisements but they are still freely available online. The MoS last week found such ads on Craigslist, with one describing their property as ‘escort friendly’
and another saying the rent was ‘negotiable depending on the services you’re offering’.
A further Craigslist post stated: ‘Girl wanted to share apartment with male, must be broadminded and not shy in any way, no rent or bills in return for arrangement.’
In 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service issued guidance classifying ‘rent-for-sex’ deals as punishable by up to seven years in jail.
Several months later, an undercover investigation by the MoS found such exploitation was rife.
The Home Office said: ‘The safety of women and girls is paramount and we will always place victims’ voices at the heart of our decisions.’ Craigslist did not reply to a request for comment.