pay to stay

Noun

pay-to-stay (uncountable)

1. The practice where retailers charge manufacturers a slotting fee to place their products on the shelves of stores.
   • But despite improvements, Mr Baruch says some complaints persist. “Pay to stay [cash to secure shelf space] is front and centre of the complaints we receive — it’s supply chain bullying and anti-competitive. They shouldn’t try to create barriers to business — it’s fundamentally unfair, particularly...2016 August 21, Paul McClean, “Supermarkets and suppliers take stock of relationships”, in Financial Times
2. (US) A scheme where prison inmates are charged for their accommodation (meals, clothing etc.) while in prison.
3. (US) A scheme where prisoners can pay to be moved to a more desirable prison.
   • In what is commonly called “pay-to-stay” or “private jail,” a constellation of small city jails — at least 26 of them in Los Angeles and Orange counties — open their doors to defendants who can afford the option. […] The region’s pay-to-stay jails took in nearly $7 million from the programs from...2017 March 9, Alysia Santo, Victoria Kim, Anna Flagg, “Upgrade your jail cell – for a price”, in Los Angeles Times
4. (UK) A United Kingdom government policy, due to come into effect in April 2017 but never implemented, whereby council tenants earning £30,000 (£40,000 in London) would have to pay "market or near market rents".
   • In 1979, 42% of Britons lived in council homes. Today that figure is just under 8%. Now, by scrapping secure tenancies and bringing in a pay-to-stay scheme, the government’s new housing bill could mark the end of a century-old dream[.]2016 January 4, John Harris, “The end of council housing”, in The Guardian