“Do you need somewhere to live and can’t afford the rent and bills? You can be homeless, unemployed, single parent…You can move in today!” the online advert read.
On the surface, the post – written by an apparent ‘good Samaritan’ landlord – seemed innocent enough. However when our undercover reporter responded and asked for more details, we discovered it was anything but.
Christopher Cox “targeted vulnerable young women” who needed a place to stay Credit: ITV
Frederick Allard asked young female tenants to perform sex acts in exchange for reduced rent Credit: Solent
“I am mainly looking for sex once or twice a week and the same for oral. What is off limits?” they swiftly replied when we asked what they wanted in return – as well as listing the household chores they’d expect to be carried out for the ‘free room’.
It’s a horrifying scenario, but our investigation into “sex for rent” – the term given to illegal arrangements where landlords offer discounted or free accommodation in exchange for sexual favours – has shown just how rife these predators are.
While sick “sex for rent” schemes were deemed a sexual offence by the Ministry of Justice back in 2017, it’s still a serious problem, and convictions are still extremely rare.
Among the small number of successful prosecutions, Christopher Cox, then 53, was the first to be convicted in 2022, jailed for 12 months after posting ads looking for young or homeless women to stay at his Surrey home.
The sleazy landlord was exposed by Jeremy Kyle for demanding women tenants had BDSM sex with him in return for a room, offering one accommodation if she agreed to perform sexual favours for him involving BDSM, spanking and bondage.
73-year-old Frederick Allard was also found guilty of sexual assault and inciting prostitution at Winchester Crown Court in 2024, after abusing his position to get vulnerable women to perform sex acts for reduced rent.
Just last year, a major report into rogue landlords revealed that one in 17 questioned said their landlord requested sexual favours.
Despite repeated promises of a crackdown on this type of offence over the years, a quick online search revealed scores of dodgy adverts still littering sites such as Craigslist, looking for ‘open-minded’ female-only tenants.
Our undercover reporter responded to a handful, and quickly received a flurry of responses offering ‘too-good-to-be-true’ rent deals with the obvious catch that this would be offered in exchange for ‘favours’, including sex and oral sex.
One landlord we responded to expressed hope to “spend time” with our reporter while clarifying it would be for “regular boy-girl time… Nothing weird or kinky.”
Manjinder Kaur Atwal, Housing Solicitor at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, says: “I’ve had quite a number of cases that I’ve dealt with, and all of them have involved vulnerable women who are mostly single with children and are in desperate need of accommodation.
“It’s not a consensual agreement – it’s inherently a controlling behaviour and exploits the imbalance of power of the housing, which is a basic human necessity.”
Mum-of-four Anna* was coerced into having sex with her landlord while her kids slept in the next room, or face being evicted. She is just one of Manjinder’s clients, and her harrowing story is sadly far from an isolated incident.
Manjinder adds: “She was worried her children would be taken away if she were made homeless.
“She thought if she went to social services or the local authority for help, her children would be taken away, so she found an advert online, and she decided to view the property, which was below the market rate.
“The agent and landlord knew she was desperate.
“She wasn’t working, and they took advantage of her. She was behind with the rent, and she wasn’t aware of her rights or that she could ask for help from the local authority.
“As a result, she was unfortunately exploited.
“Her children were in the next room, and she had to carry out sexual favours to keep a roof over her and her children’s heads.
“When she then refused the sexual behaviour, they changed the locks, and she didn’t know what to do. It was at that point that she was guided to get the proper help she needed.
“She was vulnerable and desperate. It’s a minority, but there are rogue landlords out there who do exploit the most vulnerable.”
‘It was traumatic’
English student Darling Duran, 39, who lives in Ireland, was propositioned when she was looking for a place to rent in Dublin in 2023.
Speaking to The Jattvibe, she says: “I found an advert for a one-bedroom apartment costing €700 (£608) a month on Facebook, and the price was good so I WhatsApped the number.
“He told me he was single, and that he lived there too – so we would be sharing a bed.
“He went on to say he was a truck driver and worked nights, so he wouldn’t sleep there at night often, but when he did, it wouldn’t be a problem with me being there.
“I was confused at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood – he was suggesting we have sex in exchange for cheap rent.
“I felt so uncomfortable and was shocked. I didn’t accept, but after that, he tried to invite me on a date and kept messaging. I was alone in a new country, and the whole situation left me feeling very vulnerable.
“I didn’t realise I could report it to the police at the time – I just wanted to move on from the whole experience, but it was traumatic. It was hard to know who I could trust.
“Overall, I was lucky though – we didn’t meet so I wasn’t put in immediate danger, and I was lucky I’d realised before I’d moved in.”
However, some of Darling’s friends have not been so ‘lucky’.
She says: “I have friends who have had a similar proposition, but they’d already been living in the property before the landlord tried it on.
“One friend was living in a house share, which seemed normal initially, but then the landlord started to subtly proposition her.
“Then one night he got drunk, and he tried to get into her room.
“She was terrified and had to run to get help in the middle of the night.
“The next day, she was thrown out because she hadn’t agreed to sleep with him, so she was left homeless.
Landlords were looking specifically for vulnerable renters struggling to pay their bills Credit: Supplied
English student Darling Duran, 39, was propositioned when she was looking for a place to rent in Dublin Credit: Supplied
One landlord was specifically looking for a mum and daughter Credit: Supplied
“We should be protected from landlords – it’s wrong that they can abuse their power over those in a vulnerable position looking for shelter.”
‘There’s little chance of being caught’
Targeting those most vulnerable is a key element for landlords offering “sex for rent” arrangements.
Marcus Johnstone, Managing Director of PCD Solicitors, a criminal defence firm and specialist in sex crimes, says: “We’re a defence firm [but] we’re being contacted more and more by women who are the victims of crime who are not getting assistance from the police.
“[Landlords] will target the vulnerable – the single mothers, people struggling financially, young girls, perhaps eighteen and just left home, fallen out with parents and just want to get away, with no money.
“You have a lot of men who want to exploit women, and it’s an easy way for them to do it.
“I’ve said for quite some time, England is becoming the sex crime country of choice for sex offenders.
“There’s little chance of ever being caught; if caught, there’s little chance of being prosecuted. If prosecuted, there is a little chance of being convicted – and this is across the board, in all types of sexual offences.
“There are two main approaches. One is the Craigslist advert where it is obvious… However, the bigger problem, I think, is the hidden exploitation.
“That’s where landlords will offer properties to often young females or single mothers without it being obvious this is sex for rent, but they will rent the properties, and then there will be the pressure that’s put on the tenants.”
One advert we replied to offered a room to someone unable to afford rent or bills, as well as asking personal details, including age, gender and a photo.
Among the other adverts we came across, one offered “shared accommodation for a female in need”, while another had a room for a “single female” for £40 a week.
SEX FOR RENT ADVERT ‘RED FLAGS’
While it’s not always immediately obvious if an advert is offering a ‘sex for rent’ arrangement, housing solicitor Manjinder Kaur Atwal says there can be signs. She says…
“There are recurring red flags.
“These include rent that is significantly below the market value with no clear explanation.
“Phrases I’ve seen in adverts include, for example, ‘open-minded’, ‘easy-going’ or ‘companionship preferred’.
“Other adverts I’ve seen have statements such as ‘ideal for female students’ without any justification.
“Some landlords I’ve seen request photos of tenants.
“These rogue landlords avoid written agreements.
“The types of landlords I’ve seen asking for sex are individuals who own multiple properties and have a pattern of targeting younger, isolated tenants.
“They often rely on secrecy and work on the assumption victims will not report them.”
When we asked for more details, one landlord asked for basic household chores to be carried out, as well as ‘something more intimate’ a couple of times a week Credit: Supplied
It’s very often the renter’s word against the landlord’s (stock image) Credit: Getty
When we replied to an advert offering a room in a two-bed bungalow with a 37-year-old “gentleman” who stated they “preferred a lady tenant” they offered to discuss rent and bills to anyone struggling.
Another offered a room specifically for a “female mother and daughter.”
While there was no further explanation, Marcus adds: “The other worrying development at the moment is paedophile predatory males who are looking to gain access to the children of their tenants. That’s the dangerous development here.
“A commercial landlord would want the very best tenant – someone with a secure professional job, with references, paying a month’s rent in advance, and a holding deposit, etc.
“So why are you renting a property to an eighteen-year-old female with a young child who has no secure income? That’s what they’re looking for.”
‘Scared no one will believe them’
It’s also an area considered “taboo”, with very few victims feeling strong enough to openly talk about it, let alone report to the police.
It’s also notoriously difficult to prove that any crime has taken place.
Manjinder says: “A lot of my clients have said they were scared no one would believe them.
“If somebody is pressured to have sex in return for a reduction in rent, how do you prove that? It’s her word, but then man will just deny it.”
Unfortunately, it seems that the “perfect storm” of a lack of affordable housing, the cost of living crisis and the demand for cheap housing has created opportunities for predatory landlords.
Manjinder says: “People are becoming more and more desperate for affordable housing, and I think this will be a time for these types of rogue landlords to take advantage of these vulnerable people.
“The more awareness we give to tenants and make them aware of what their rights are will perhaps help not just women but all vulnerable tenants to speak out and get the word out that sex for rent is unlawful, morally wrong, and it is a criminal offence.”
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, agrees, adding: “A lack of affordable homes means that a despicable minority of landlords are misusing their power and position for violent and coercive ends.
“Making renters less vulnerable to high costs and insecure housing would reduce the prevalence of sex for rent arrangements, but this needs the government to limit rent rises and create more genuinely affordable homes.”
* Anna is a fake name.
