The classifieds website has long been accused of fuelling the exploitation of desperate people who feel forced to have sex in exchange for tenancies by allowing sleazy adverts on its platform. When contacted by an undercover reporter the advertisers demanded sex as payment for housing. Gay landlords looking. Subscription Notification.
Share this article
A broken system
Landlords offering free accommodation in return for sexual favours have targeted around a quarter of a million women, an investigation has revealed. Men sent explicit emails to numerous potential tenants and detailed the explicit sexual acts they would have to carry out to keep their home. The landlords were unaware the tenants they were messaging were undercover Mail on Sunday reporters posing as people looking for rent. During a series of face-to-face meetings, the potential tenants — all women in their 20s — were told they would have to perform regular explicit acts, including oral sex and unprotected sex. One landlord, who is allegedly on benefits, told the reporter that in order to rent his one-bed council flat she would be required to have daily unprotected sex with him, according to the publication. Many landlords have targeted female students who are struggling to cover costs while at university. Following the legal advice issued in January, lawyers and MPs said it is not enough to deter such landlords and are calling for a bill to make offering a room in exchange for sexual acts a criminal offence in its own right. I do not see Craigslist accepting any responsibility for the exploitation of young people they are facilitating. When the reporters revealed their true identity to the landlords they defended their actions and dismissed that it was illegal.
A Hilariously Embarrassing Housing Crisis
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that female tenants in residential apartment buildings in Los Angeles, California, were subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that property manager Filomeno Hernandez sexually harassed female residents at the rental properties since at least through the present. According to the complaint, Hernandez engaged in harassment that included, among other things, frequently and repeatedly engaging in unwanted sexual touching, including sexual assault, making unwelcome sexual advances and comments, offering to reduce rent or excusing late or unpaid rent in exchange for sex, and entering the homes of female tenants without their consent. Defendants manage or own properties where the illegal conduct occurred.
The problem of sex for rent — where landlords expect their tenants to pay for properties with sex — is impacting a quarter of a million women. An undercover BBC investigation recently caught two male landlords offering sex for rent deals to women on camera. The Ministry of Justice said the actions of the two landlords, who live in Bristol, is illegal. Simply placing an advert offering a sex for rent arrangement can carry a prison sentence of up to seven years. But while the footage has caused outrage on social media, it is merely the tip of the iceberg. In fact, over , women have had a landlord ask them for sex or sexual favours in the last five years, according to a poll released earlier this year by housing charity Shelter. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, told Stylist. In the face of crippling high rents, a drought of affordable homes and few protections against eviction — a dangerous minority of criminal landlords are clearly abusing their power. Tenants need to be empowered to act against this criminal behaviour, and accusations must be dealt with seriously by the police. Ultimately renters need better protections all round: longer tenancies would provide tenants with more stability and enable them to speak out without fear of eviction, while building more homes that are affordable to rent would also give tenants the option to move out if they need to.
