NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Rogue landlords exploiting vulnerable people by offering 'sex for rent' in England

By Richard Marsden
Daily Mail·
14 Apr, 2017 03:27 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rogue landlords are exploiting vulnerable people by offering free accommodation in exchange for sex.

Rogue landlords are exploiting vulnerable people by offering free accommodation in exchange for sex.

Rogue landlords are exploiting vulnerable people by offering free accommodation in exchange for sex, charities have warned.

They say the deals take advantage of those unable to afford spiralling rents and "go as close to the edge of the law ... without breaking [it]," according to Daily Mail.

Websites hosting adverts for such offers are being urged to tackle the problem.

As young people and the low-paid are priced out of accommodation, particularly in south-east England, "sex for rent" adverts have sprung up online.

One classified advertising site, Craigslist, carried more than 100 such listings in a single day, a BBC investigation found.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A female student who answered one of them said she felt it was her only option.

She added: "He took me into his living room, got me drinks, and then after that it was just straight upstairs ... He would do what he wanted, forcefully, and I just sort of went along with it."

Labour MP Peter Kyle said classified websites should stop allowing the adverts or Parliament should intervene.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If [websites] don't stand up to this and then accept their responsibility, I will be pushing for legislation to do it for them," he said.

A string of charities have backed his calls for a crackdown.

Mel Potter, of the Brighton Oasis Project for women, said: "It's something that potentially can trap someone and put them at risk of violence and abuse."

Andrew Wallis, of anti-slavery charity Unseen, added: "I think these adverts go as close to the edge of the law that they possibly can without breaking the law.

Discover more

Property

Big Mount retail block for sale

14 Apr 05:00 PM
Property

Handy corner site in high-growth Silverdale

14 Apr 05:00 PM
New Zealand

For sale: Almost half-hectare in Birkdale

14 Apr 02:40 AM

"The [landlords] would argue [tenants] have chosen voluntarily to enter that situation. The trouble is when you have a vulnerable person who then becomes exploited, the concept of choice soon disappears."

Paul Noblet, of homeless charity Centrepoint, called for advertising sites to consider a "voluntary code" under which the offending posts could be removed.

One of the adverts on Craigslist, from the owner of a "small two-bedroom house near Hull", says: "Money is not an issue, I would prefer some company.

"There are some stipulations to the living arrangements ... This would be a mutual benefits arrangement. Free rent, paid in other methods."

Meanwhile, a "City worker" living in a "luxurious spacious apartment" in central London was seeking "a dominant attractive woman who in return will place me beneath her beautiful feet and boss me around".

The 35-year-old asked anyone interested to send photos of themselves and their "lovely feet".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Other adverts included a man in Maidstone, Kent, seeking a woman to move in and pretend to be his girlfriend.

A double room in Rochester, Kent, was said to be available in exchange for unspecified "services", while younger men were targeted by a post from a Brighton property owner.

An "open-minded naughty sexy girl" was requested by a London landlord, who added: "Send your pictures, age, name, maybe nationality ... Room can be used to work from like massage etc or just to live in."

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

Another said: "As far as the apartment's concerned, it's as if we're flatmates. It's all the bills, the rent, free."

But he added: "You agree sort of like a couple of times a week, pop into my room sort of thing."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A landlord who defended the arrangement as a "friend with benefits" situation, added: "You can argue that high rent charged by landlords is taking advantage too.

"There's no compulsion for them to do this. Everyone goes into it with their eyes wide open. I am the last type of person who'd like to take advantage. Both sides have something the other person wants. I see it as a win-win situation."

He rejected claims it could be construed as sexual exploitation, saying that people working in jobs they did not enjoy was "like a form of prostitution".

Craigslist did not respond to requests for comment.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM
World

Trump hits Canada with new tariff threat

11 Jul 04:40 AM
World

Aussie sporting first in racial abuse arrest

11 Jul 04:15 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM

The Supreme Court cleared the way for plans for mass firings at 19 agencies, departments.

Trump hits Canada with new tariff threat

Trump hits Canada with new tariff threat

11 Jul 04:40 AM
Aussie sporting first in racial abuse arrest

Aussie sporting first in racial abuse arrest

11 Jul 04:15 AM
Premium
Trump tariffs: What’s the latest on the trade war?

Trump tariffs: What’s the latest on the trade war?

11 Jul 04:03 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP