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The long-running saga of unscrupulous landlords taking advantage of lone tenants to suggest a ‘sex for rent’ arrangement continues with a debate in the House of Lords on Monday.
At the debate there will be amendments to the government’s Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is at Committee Stage in the Upper House.
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede has tabled amendments which would specifically criminalise ‘sex for rent’ landlords and would implement financial penalties on websites and platforms who host sex for rent advertisements.
Back in January this year the Daily Mail contacted over 20 UK male landlords advertising on the US-owned listings website Craigslist - reporters were posing as a 21-year-old student who was repeatedly offered free accommodation in exchange for sexual acts.
The sexual overtures were made by an HMRC staff member and a former member of RAF Support Command amongst others. The Mail names some of the landlords it contacted.
Labour MP Peter Kyle has also been calling for three changes to the law to help eradicate the problem.
Firstly he wants the placing of suggestive ads on sites such as Craigslist to be made an offence; secondly he wants the creation of a specific offence in an amendment to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which may encourage more victims to come forward; and thirdly he wants Craigslist and similar online platforms to be accountable for the advertising they allow.
Offering accommodation in return for sexual favours is a criminal offence, but only one person has been charged for it, in February of this year.
Under current legislation itcan be difficult for a victim of this practice to come forward as for a prosecution they need to be defined as a prostitute.
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If a woman is prepared to have sex in return for free accommodation clearly she is a pro, who wants to go anywhere near a dirty pro ? you would likely catch something nasty , I really don't think this practice goes on much at all
WHATS THE iSSUE, if both parties know what they're getting into from the advert, surely criminality should only be an issue if the advert is not clear about what is being advertised, is it not the same as all adverts out there advertising massages by women? these adverts seem to be quite clear on what everyone expects to get, why doesn't some reporter phone these number and see the response on how many women are advertising sex acts for money, it seems when sex discrimination is again against men it's just laughed at as were supposed to just deal with it.
In my opinion, it would be better to get the rent and then pay for the sex somewhere else I'm sure that would be a better deal for a landlord and one would still have some money left over.
just saying, men offer sex in return for money too ya know.
Some women and men just want regular sex without the commitment of a relationship. So if the tenant and the landlord have a “tenant/landlord with benefits” agreement what is the problem?
I have nothing to add but my 100% support for landlords human rights.
We do not deserve to be desriminated against just because politicians have an agenda.
IE. Public renting good
Private renting bad
Errr are the councils/ government
Actually providing, affordable decent places for people to rent? No!
Are private landlords in the face of more and more "government regulations and taxes" still providing accomodation for people? Yes
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