27-04-2025
Property website to introduce measures to prevent sex-for-rent advertisements
Property website is introducing measures to prevent sex-for-rent advertisements appearing on its platform as a third attempt to legislate against the practice goes through the Seanad.
Earlier this month, Labour senator Laura Harmon introduced the Prohibition of Advertising or Importuning Sex for Rent Bill 2025 in the Seanad and the legislation proceeded to third stage without opposition from the Government.
The bill proposes a fine of up to €50,000 for advertising sex-for-rent offers, with the legislation covering any follow-up texts, direct messages, emails or other correspondence after the initial advert.
Following a debate on the bill earlier this month, has now said it is looking at ways it can identify advertisements which could be offering sex-for-rent arrangements.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the platform said it has updated its house rules to now include that: "Any advertisement submitted to that, in our sole discretion, appears to solicit or offer sexual services in exchange for rent will be removed without notice.
"The individual responsible for such content will be permanently prohibited from posting further advertisements on the platform."
It says it has also built a functionality into its website which will raise flags about content which requires manual review before it goes live, 'or entirely restricts advertisers from using certain prohibited words or phrases in their advertisements'.
is looking at ways it can identify advertisements which could be offering sex-for-rent arrangements.
'For example, our system will block or flag advertisers who try to enter terms such as "HAP" of "professional couple" etc. as such phrases can potentially be used in a discriminatory way against applicants," the website said.
"Following the Seanad debate transcript, we noted that certain phrases commonly associated in ads where the landlord is seeking sex for rent (e.g. "must be open-minded", "must be up for having fun in the house", "can negotiate").
"We have now added these to our list of prohibited phrases in advertisements. Any ads containing such terms will now be flagged for manual review before they go live.'
The statement said the website is open to working with Ms Harmon to gather a more comprehensive list of such phrases "and will continue to update our prohibited list accordingly".
"While we recognise that much of this activity does not occur on and is more likely found in private messaging via social media we are committed to doing everything we can to protect tenants on as they search for accommodation (sic).'
The criminalising of people who make sex-for-rent offers has been included in the programme for government, more than three years since the Government pledged to tackle the issue as a priority in the wake of an Irish Examiner investigation.
Online advertisements regularly appear on a number of websites offering reduced or no rent in return for sex.
Separately, people responding to accommodation advertisements on social media receive similar offers in private messages from the homeowners.
Previous attempts to legislate against the practice include the Ban on Sex for Rent Bill introduced by the Social Democrats two years ago, and the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (Sex for Rent) Bill 2023, introduced in the Dáil by Sinn Féin last year.
The Social Democrats legislation failed to pass pre-legislative scrutiny while there has been no movement on the Sinn Féin bill.
