In late 2021, an Irish Examiner investigation uncovered the troubling intersection of the housing crisis and sexual exploitation. In an intensified housing market, more and more landlords take advantage of tenants through the manipulation of sexual acts as rent. Although ‘sex for rent’ did not begin with the current housing crisis, the scarcity of affordable housing exacerbates landlord’s exploitative power. The 2021 investigation found online advertisements offering accommodation or reduced rent prices in exchange for sexual acts across the greater Dublin area. The rapid rate of these advertisements shed light on the reality of the ‘sex for rent’ crisis.
The dynamic of a ‘sex for rent’ scheme is never based on unwavering consent. Noeline Blackwell, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Center, raised immediate concern following the advertisements the Irish Examiner exposed. “It is consensual in so much that the tenant is entering into the arrangement but they have no power,” she explains. Tenants who agree to ‘sex for rent’ situations when faced with the alternative of homelessness do not hold the ability to truly consent given the thwarted power dynamics. The National Women’s Council of Ireland explains that sex for rent practices are “abuses of the landlord tenant relationship” and make way for gender based violence. The precarious nature of the current housing situation in Dublin intensifies the stakes for many tenants seeking accommodation. Recent studies, including a 2018 Shelter survey which found that a quarter of a million UK women “have been asked for sexual favours or intercourse in return for free rent,” have shed light on the disproportionate impact of sex for rent schemes on women. Migrants, those in low-income or unemployment situations, students, and those with disabilities often struggle even more so in navigating the scarce housing market and are vulnerable populations in the face of sex for rent schemes. The National Women’s Council explains that often in these circumstances, landlords yield greater power and influence over their tenants’ lives as they are navigating such precarious economic and social positions. This intensified power leads to greater chances of coercion and abuse, particularly when sexual exploitation is introduced.
Dublin’s population of international students is also at higher risk for coercion into sex for rent situations. The Irish Council for International Students found that 5%, a total of 37 individuals, of 2023 survey participants “had either received an offer to rent a room in Ireland in exchange for sex, or had seen a room that was being advertised in exchange for sex.” Among these survey results, 54% of those who witnessed a sex for rent scheme identified as female. This mirrors the results of the research conducted by the Women’s Council in previous years.
In August of 2023, Sinn Fein proposed breakthrough legislation in response to the sex for rent crisis. The proposed Sinn Féin bill amends the 2004 Residential Tenancies Act to criminalise any sex for rent scheme, just as the Women’s Council, ICOS, and members of the public called for. When introducing the bill, Eoin O Broin, Dublin Mid-West TD, reiterated that “seeking sex for rent is a disgusting predatory form of behaviour. It should be outlawed.” Under Section 19 of the Act, this bill will make it “an offence for a landlord to seek or to advertise to seek sex in lieu of part or all the rent for that tenancy.”
The bill is through to Dáil Éireann, First Stage and was debated in the House of Oireachtas this past March. In an official statement emailed to The University Times, the Department of Justice explains that “the Minister has been clear that any accommodation provider using their position to prey on vulnerable people is completely unacceptable and she has committed to addressing this exploitative behaviour by making the offering or advertising of accommodation for sex in lieu of rent a criminal offence.” However, there is still a long legislative battle ahead to solidify the bill. Four stages of Dáil Éireann remain until the amendment is debated yet again before it can be signed by the President. In the meantime, the Department of Justice is working closely with the Office of the Attorney General to continue drafting provisions for this amendment, according to their official statement.
In a statement emailed to the University Times, the National Women’s Council (NWC) comments that “[we] welcome Sinn Féin’s focus on achieving positive change in relation to ‘sex for rent’ exploitation. Any activity that keeps this kind of predatory and exploitative practice under the microscope and on the agenda is valuable. However, we are unconvinced that this bill will bring about the change they seek.” The Council expresses concern that this bill could completely bypass the reality of the problem. More often than not, sex for rent advertisements are for single rooms to let. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, someone renting out a single room is not legally considered a landlord. In the proposal, it specifies that landlords who advertise sex for rent will be penalised. “This means that they could continue this activity unhindered by the new law,” explains the NWC. The Council suggests that the Department of Justice creates a new and specific named offence for sex for rent with clear labels of predatory landlords. They explain it is imperative to “define the specific behaviours involved so as not to overlap or interfere with other legislation.” Although the recently enacted Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 will better ensure protection and privacy of victim-survivors of sexual offences, according to the DOJ’s official statement, the legal specificity outlawing sex for rent is fundamental to proactively combat exploitative housing practices.
