Shocking undercover footage has revealed how sordid landlords are preying on young women - asking for sex in return for free rent.
One sex-for-rent landlord, aged in his mid 40s, met the Sunday People's undercover reporter in Hove, East Sussex, to offer to share his one-bed flat.
In a series of sickening messages he told her he would expect sex three times a week instead of rent.
“Be like my gf or you can pay between £500/£700 to rent a flat.
“I just want fun and horizontal exercise. Will u make luv with me?"
Believing she was 22, he also demanded the undercover reporter send him “sexy” photos prior to meeting, telling her: “I want to see what I’m getting.”
When she arrived for their 15 minute meeting, he attempted to lure her into his car to “show her the area”.
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She refused.
"I'm giving you a roof over your head for nothing and asking for a little bit in return," he said, before going into further details about what their 'arrangement' would be.
"It don't mean we are shagging every night. It'd be nice to have some cuddles, intimacy like couples do.
"It's not gonna be every day - I'm not gonna be like a rabbit on ya."
The man also insisted he "wasn't an a*****e" and claimed eight other girls were vying for the room, and what they were offering him was "unbelievable".
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He added that they were "absolutely begging" him to take them on as a sex tenant.
The lurid video shines a light on the exploitation that some women face in the hunt for a safe, secure space to live - despite the practice being outlawed in Janurary.
Section 52 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 – causing or inciting prostitution for gain – can now be interpreted to include sex for rent landlords.
Anyone convicted could face up to seven years in jail.
So far there have been no convictions.
Despite the lack of convictions, the Sunday People were able to find dozens of sex for rent ads this week on the Craigslist website.
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The phenomenon was further exposed when the Sunday Mirror met three men each demanding sex for a room last March.
One in Loughborough, Leics, said rent, internet and TV are included in the deal, writing: “It’s all free only thing you need to buy is your own food. In return I ask for sexual favours.”
Another, in Notting Hill, West London, quizzed our reporter on her intimate experiences and said: “The rent is in an alternative form, sex three times a week. What are your limits sexually?” Both demanded naked snaps for the “application process”.
A “couple in their 20s” offering a room for sex in Sittingbourne, Kent, said: “Apologies. It’s slightly dodgy. Free room for you in return for joining us in the bedroom occasionally, around once a week.”
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Another - who compared himself to Fifty Shades of Grey hunk Christian Grey – claimed to be looking for a female who would “submit” to him.
He asked: “Have you ever been taken by two (or more) men at the same time, tied up, restrained, spanked, whipped, blindfolded, had nipple clamps?”
In April last year, a court heard how landlord Mamun Rashid, 30, used rental site Spare Room to lure three women to his flat in East London.
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He offered them sex for rent and raped them when they refused. Rashid, was jailed for 18 years.
Homeless charity Centrepoint warned despite a change in the law, “informal” sex for rent remains commonplace.
Its Head of Public Affairs Paul Noblet said: “No young person should find themselves having to resort to such an arrangement. But in reality we know young people can take desperate measures to find themselves a bed for the night.
“Formal arrangements in which sex is exchanged for payment in the form of free rent are illegal. But we know informal arrangements still take place.
“This practice cannot truly be stamped out until the Government is able to ensure that every young person facing homelessness is able to access safe housing.”
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Shelter chief executive Polly Neate added: “Too many women feel backed into a corner because of extortionate private rents, little protection against eviction and lack of social housing. While the police should undoubtedly take all illegal behaviour seriously, we also need to see changes that put renters in the driving seat.
“The Government’s plan to abolish no-fault evictions must become law quickly so fewer renters are forced into these horrific situations in the first place.
And in the future, building a new generation of safe, stable social homes would mean more people can actually afford a decent place to live, putting the brakes on sex for rent for good.”
The CPS said it is not aware of any prosecutions as a result of the new guidance issued earlier this year.
It added: “Case studies which appear to show people seeking to sexually exploiting others in so called sex-for-rent agreements are clearly disturbing.
“That’s exactly why earlier this year, we strengthened our guidance for prosecutors in this area to help bring offenders to justice.
“The CPS is demand led and can only consider cases referred to us by the police.”
Craigslist has been contacted for comment but did not respond.
