Some landlords are asking for sex in exchange for rental discounts, and one tenant hopes throwing the issue into the spotlight could prevent future harassment.
For Judy White, the months-long battle with her landlord started with a wink.
In 2013, White was renting a four-bedroom house in St. John’s. At first, she said, the flirting didn’t bother her much.
Then her boyfriend moved out, leaving her alone and short on money.
“That’s when it got real bad,” White said, describing her landlord’s monthly calls, in which he’d ask for sex in exchange for a discount on rent.
“I just kept pushing it off. You know, saying, he’s got to be joking. He has to be joking. Because who does this?”
According to survey results from a local renters group released last month, White isn’t alone.
A third of 80 respondents to the online questionnaire, created by the Newfoundland and Labrador Tenant Support Group and shared on Facebook, said a landlord had solicited them for sex. Half of those requests offered a rental discount as incentive.
Complicates ‘landlord-tenant relationship’
The results sparked one of two reactions among group members, said the group’s moderator, Sherwin Flight.
Some argued a sex-for-shelter trade, if it’s between two consenting adults, is a private matter. Others, like Flight, have concerns.
“It’s really more about the balance of power in the landlord-tenant relationship,” Flight said, pointing o