This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Houston city officials have ordered at least a temporary halt to a Canadian company’s plan to open a so-called “robot brothel” in the city.

Houston mayor pushes back against proposed 'robot brothel' Read more

The Houston Chronicle reported that building inspectors ordered the halt after determining that the company, Kinky S Dolls, lacked the permits required for demolition and construction at a former 2,500 sq ft hair salon in the Galleria area of the city.

Kinky S Dolls announced last month on Facebook that it planned to open a “love dolls brothel” in Houston. It would be the company’s first location in the US and its second overall, after Toronto.

On social media, Kinky S Dolls says its human-like dolls are available for sale or rent and can speak.

The Chronicle wrote: “The concept of the KinkySDollS adult business is similar to a showroom where human-like dolls are erotically displayed and can be rented to be used in private rooms at the location by the hour or half-hour. The dolls are made of synthetic skin materials with highly articulated skeletons.”

The company has met resistance from community groups and local officials. Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has said that though he is not trying to be the “moral police”, Kinky S Dolls is not the kind of business he wants in the city.

Elijah Rising, a non-profit that seeks to end sex trafficking in Houston, has mounted an online petition to keep the company out of the city. By Sunday afternoon, it had been signed nearly 12,000 times.