Sex-for-rent landlord accused of making new offer
- Published
Mike was recorded during secret filming offering sex for rent to a BBC undercover reporter
A man who offered a sex-for-rent agreement to an undercover BBC reporter has been accused of attempting a similar arrangement with another woman.
Mike, from Wiltshire, was secretly filmed by Inside Out West in 2018 saying the "benefit" to his rental deal was "you sleep with me once a week".
The latest woman contacted the BBC to say he had made a similar offer to her.
Mike denied the accusation and claimed his Twitter account - where the offer was made - had been hacked.
The woman, who was trying to find a flat in Bristol and who wanted to remain anonymous, said she initially thought it was a joke.
"He messaged me saying 'you know I can offer you this in exchange for a sex-for-rent agreement?'," she said.
"I thought he was actually joking so I just said thanks but no thanks."
Impersonation claims
But later she came across footage from the Inside Out programme.
"It made me feel quite uneasy because I wasn't really sure who I was speaking to then on social media.
"If what he'd told me about his life and his family was actually true and I do worry that there are already women in these situations [with other landlords]."
Previously, Mike said of the 2018 encounter that he was pretending to be a landlord but actually doing research for a book.
In a phone call about the contact on Twitter, Mike said he "believed it was somebody else impersonating" him.
"I have never engaged in having anybody here in my accommodation for sex," he added.
The BBC found evidence of the practice in Bristol with ads on Craigslist - one offering "double room for naughty girl for exchange of favours".
Another said "lovely house for rent and cheap as I'll be wanting paying in kind also".
Craigslist declined to comment.
You can see more on this story on Inside Out on BBC One in the West of England at 19:30 on Monday and afterwards on BBC iPlayer.
- Published10 September 2018
