Landlords who ask vulnerable tenants for sex instead of rent could face fines of up to €50,000 under a new opposition bill seeking to ban the coercive practice.
A technical group of Labour, Social Democrats and Green Party senators today called on the Government to support the bill, saying they want to see it introduced by September when the next cohort of students will need places to live.
Under the Prohibition of Advertising Or Importuning Sex for Rent bill, which is now at second stage, anyone advertising a room or home in return for sexual favours instead of rent will be liable to a “class A” fine of up to €50,000.
The leader of the Seanad technical group, Labour senator Laura Harmon, said the proposed legislation would ensure this would also relate to any subsequent texts, direct messages, e-mails or other correspondence after the initial advert.
“Often the ads will say must be up for having fun in the house, must be willing to negotiate, can pay in other ways, and it’s often then the next stage when they start messaging that they get these creepy messages through electronic means, so this bill would criminalise that,” Senator Harmon said.
“There is no legislation that is outlawing ads in relation to sex for rent, so this bill would make it a criminal offence to advertise for the letting of rooms for tenancies in exchange for sex or in exchange for reduced rent.
“We want to criminalise that and this bill would send a clear message to predators that they will face the law if they do this,” she added.
The bill is being supported by a number of groups, including the National Women’s Council of Ireland, the Rape Crisis Network, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, and the Union of Students in Ireland.
Senator Harmon said those backing the bill want to see it introduced by start of the next college year in September, saying there is increasingly anecdotal evidence of students being targeted.
“I was president of USI 10 years ago and this issue was not featuring, it was not something that we were hearing about.
“But it’s extremely prominent now, to the point where students’ unions are actually having to warn students at inductions about the issue because it is so prevalent.
“Research from the Irish Council for International Students shows that 5% of women who responded to their survey in 2024 and a previous survey in 2023 said they had encountered or been offered directly these ads in relation to sex for rent.
“And we know from the National Women’s Council of Ireland as well that migrants are often at risk, women in poverty, and we have seen cases where it has happened in terms of men as well,” the Labour senator said.
The bill is being supported by a number of members in the Upper House, including Green Party senator Malcolm Noonan who said the cross-party support for the bill “shows a really progressive collaborative effort of working together as a centre-left alliance in the Seanad”.
Senator Noonan said in his view it is “critically important that our [Oireachtas] committees are up and running as soon as possible so we can get important legislation like this enacted”.
