A London landlord, UNCLE, has launched a ‘women only’ viewings option for women who are uncomfortable viewing properties for rent in the company of a male letting agent. The CEO, Ryan Prince, of UNCLE, told the press he was shocked to learn the scale of abuse by disreputable landlords.
“I couldn’t believe how many women had been inappropriately approached in some shape or form,” he said.
50% of Tenants are Young Women
Prince told the London Evening Standard that women could request a female manager accompany them if they wanted to make an appointment to view an UNCLE flat. UNCLE has two large apartment blocks in Stockwell and New Cross and is currently finishing a third project in Elephant and Castle. Around 50% of tenants living in UNCLE properties are females in their 20s and 30s.
Sex for Rent
The issue of “sex for rent” has hit the headline many times in recent weeks. Housing charity Shelter released a report claiming around 250k women had been offered discounted or free rent in return for some form of sexual contact. This shocking figure was further backed up by an undercover reporter’s experiences of being offered sex for rent. One landlord offered her a free flat in exchange for sex twice a week. A BBC investigation also exposed similar findings, with a landlord offering tenants use of a log cabin in his garden, as long as they committed to a physical relationship once a week.
Landlords who offer rent for sex may be in breach of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
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