Female student renting in Cork had to share a bed with strangers and had timed schedule to shower

One in 20 international students in Ireland have been exposed to proposals of rent-free accommodation in exchange for sex, according to a housing report published by the Irish Council for International Students (ICOS).

One in seven have been offered accommodation where they are expected to sleep in the same bed with a stranger.

A female Brazilian student living in Cork was among those who outlined what she experienced while renting: “Since I arrived in Cork, I’ve lived in many different houses, like a student house where I shared a tiny bedroom with two other people paying excessive rent.”

She shared details of another living situation: “Without a doubt, this experience was terrible because the landlord monitored our steps, and there were set times to use the kitchen, plus a timed schedule for the shower.

“I even had to share a bed with two people at different times, whom I had never met before, until, after a year and a half, I finally got my own room.

“We went through many emotional ups and downs with accommodations here, many of them overpriced and in poor condition.”

Student housing strategy needed

Cork Labour Party senator and the executive director of the Irish Council for International Students, Laura Harmon, told The Echo: “This report shows that the student housing crisis is very much a feature of the wider housing crisis in Cork and across the country.

“There is a need for a specific student housing strategy to address the deficit of student housing and to ensure that student renters are protected.

“Higher education institutions in Cork, such as UCC and MTU, provide world-class education and student experiences.

“It’s important for Ireland’s reputation that students who come here and that English-language students have options for quality, affordable, safe accommodation.

“[The council] has witnessed another difficult year for international student renters who have struggled to find accommodation, fallen victim to scams, or been forced to live in sub-standard and often overcrowded properties.

“The issue of predators seeking sex in exchange for rent is alarming, and urgent legislative action is needed to address this.”

Survey findings

Nationally, more than one in 10 of the 512 respondents said that they had been a victim of an accommodation scam while in Ireland, and more than half agreed or strongly agreed that their mental health has been impacted due to the housing crisis in Ireland.

Some 61% of respondents who said they were working reported that half of their monthly salary goes towards paying their rent, and one in five respondents who worked said that they spend 70% of their income on paying rent.

Despite this, many international students reported living in accommodation that does not meet basic requirements.

Some 12% of respondents did not have access to a cooker, 10% said their accommodation did not have heating, and 38% did not have a lease agreement for their accommodation.

Sex-for-rent

One female student from Mexico said: “I posted on social media that I was looking for a room to rent and received two responses from men saying they had a room to rent, and asking me what I could offer in exchange.

“One of them directly said that I could sleep with him. He then sent some obscene images.”

A Brazilian female student said that she saw an ad online, adding: “Some man was offering a room for a woman to be a maid and for sex.”

Meanwhile, a male student from Guatemala said: “When I went to view a room, the landlord started to speak to me in a sexual tone and mentioned that there were ‘other ways’ of paying the rent.”

Ivanna Youtchak, of the National Women’s Council, said: “Sex-for-rent exploitation is damaging, degrading, and dehumanising for women.

“In its extreme form, it forces women to make a choice between homelessness and sexual exploitation.

“It primarily affects women who are renting a room in a house, as opposed to own-door accommodation, so they enter a situation of living with their predator.”