THE IRISH COUNCIL for International Students (ICOS) has welcomed a Sinn Féin Bill that proposes making ‘sex-for-rent’ arrangements illegal.

This Bill seeks to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, making it an offence under Section 19 of the Act for a landlord to seek sex in lieu of rent or to advertise for such arrangements. 

New sanctions or penalties are not proposed as part of Sinn Féin’s amendment, as instead the offence would be dealt with under the existing penalties in the act which includes fines of up to €20,000.

The party’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said today that some groups of women “are particularly vulnerable to this appalling practice, including migrant women and students”.

“I will seek to progress this Bill to Second Stage as soon as possible and look forward to full Dáil support to ban this unacceptable exploitation.”

‘Consequence of the housing crisis’

ICOS Executive Director Laura Harmon, said that “predatory behaviour” from some landlords is “one of the most insidious effects of the housing crisis”.

“This is a form of sexual exploitation, and it must be tackled.

“We at the Irish Council for International Students are calling once more on the government to introduce legislation that will address exploitation in the rental market.

“It is a disgrace that we still do not have legislation on this area and that vulnerable international students and people in general are being exploited and targeted.’’

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said in November that sex-for-rent proposals will be criminalised under new sexual offences and human trafficking legislation.

The proposals, currently in the early stages of the Dáil process, would amend parts of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023 to outlaw sex-for-rent practices.

The amendments would be contained in the section regarding consent, she said.

The Government’s Bill passed committee stage in November.

The Department of Justice has said today that McEntee “has been clear that any behaviour from accommodation providers seeking to use their position to prey on vulnerable people is completely unacceptable”.

One in 20 

Research by ICOS found that one in 20 international students had either been offered a sex-for-rent proposal, or had seen such an arrangement advertised during their search for accommodation.

The report revealed what it is like to come face-to-face with the people posting sex for rent ads in Ireland – and showed how some seek sex, from often vulnerable prospective tenants, in exchange for reduced or free accommodation. 

In February 2022, Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan, the party’s housing spokesperson, tabled a similar Bill.

It would have created an offence of requiring or accepting sex as a condition of accommodation, with penalties of up to seven years in prison or a €50,000 fine. 

It reached committee stage, but did not progress further as it did not have the support of Government.