Rogue landlords are offering ‘sex for rent’ deals

Some rogue landlords are targeting young, vulnerable people for sex by posting online classified adverts offering accommodation in exchange for other “services,” a disturbing new investigation has found.

The deals, which are entirely legal and appear on classified ad sites such as Craigslist, have been described by charities as “exploitative.”

Craigslist, which on one day carried more than 100 such adverts, has not commented.

A BBC investigation found that one advert posted by a landlord in Maidstone asked for a woman to move in and pretend to be his girlfriend, another publicised a room in London for a “naughty girl” and one in Brighton targeted younger men.

Landlords who posted the adverts were clear how the arrangement would work.

One told the BBC: “I was thinking once a week, something like that, I'm happy as long as there's sex involved.”

Another said: “You agree sort of like a couple of times a week, pop into my room sort of thing, but as far as the apartment's concerned, it's like completely as if we're flatmates. It's all the bills, the rent, free.”

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