Men on Craigslist offering Vancouver women free rent in exchange for sex

Men on Craigslist offering Vancouver women free rent in exchange for sex

[link to www.theprovince.com]

The advertisement appeared in the rooms and shares section of an online classified website and offered “free rent for the right girl.”

“I'm an attractive mid 30s white male, clean, groomed, fit. Let’s drink tonight and see if we can make this work.”

The ad wasn’t the only one of its kind.

“Rent negotiable or open to alternate payment ideas.”

“Free rent for a female that is willing to play the roll (sic) of a wife.”

The Vancouver men posting these ads don’t always say it outright, but their intent is clear: sexual favours instead of rent.

The ads have become common over the past year or so as Vancouver’s housing prices have skyrocketed, leaving more people in search of rental accommodations. Rentals have become expensive and scarce, and people are looking for roommates to offset the cost. The ads have also appeared on classified sites in other cities with hot housing markets, such as San Francisco, New York and Auckland, N.Z.

The fact that the ads have left the personals section of sites such as Craigslist and are appearing alongside legitimate appeals for roommates adds to the concern.

“It’s taking advantage of the fact that this is a terrible market in which to find reasonably priced living space — it’s very low vacancy rates and very high rents,” said Janine Benedet, a professor at the University of B.C.’s Peter A. Allard School of Law.

Benedet classified the ads as soliciting prostitution and said that under current law — specifically Sec. 286.1 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the commodification of sexual activity — offering to provide accommodation in exchange for sex is illegal.

“New criminal laws make it illegal to pay for sex. It’s a way of paying for sex,” she said.

Not only does she consider the ads illegal, she said they could also run afoul of provincial human rights laws and constitute sexual harassment.

“It’s not simply a mutual sexual relationship where they share accommodation,” Benedet said. “It leaves individuals in a very vulnerable position if they need to submit to sexual acts they otherwise wouldn’t want to keep a roof over their head.”