Trigger Warning: Sexual offences
Campaign Update: On March 1 2022, the Government committed to launch a public consultation to stamp out the predatory practice of 'Sex for Rent'.
If you want to support our campaign to end the predatory practice of 'Sex for rent' please go to our public consultation page here.
Sex for Rent is a crime whereby an individual offers accommodation at a reduced cost or for free, in exchange for sexual acts.
Will you support our campaign?
Help us persuade the government to act against this heinous crime.
Will you support our campaign?
Help us persuade the government to act against this heinous crime.
How you can help
1. Sign our petition
2. Share the petition on your social media channels
Here we have links to our posts that you can share.
3. Share you story
Got something to say or have a story to tell, you can post your experience anonymously here.
Why this campaign matters?
In 2018, YouGov and Shelter estimated that a quarter of a million women had been asked for sexual favours by their landlord, in exchange for free or discounted accommodation, at some point between 2013 and 2018.
These illegal arrangements, commonly referred to as sex for rent, force people, especially women, into the most vulnerable of situations. In closed, private spaces, to which a perpetrator has constant and unrestricted access to.
But only one person has even been prosecuted in a sex for rent case. Why?
According to the law, victims must be legally defined as ‘prostitutes’ to seek justice in Sex for Rent cases. This is a huge deterrent in their access to justice.
Landlords are also able to advertise Sex for Rent properties on sites such as Craigslist, virtually unchecked.
Victims of sex for rent need changes to the law. Firstly, to specifically criminalise sex for rent landlords, and secondly financial penalties on websites and platforms that host sex for rent advertisements.
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