diff --git a/clientapi/routing/presence.go b/clientapi/routing/presence.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9cf26856
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clientapi/routing/presence.go
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package routing
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"net/http"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/clientapi/jsonerror"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/eduserver/api"
+	userapi "github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/userapi/api"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/gomatrixserverlib"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/util"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+type presenceRequest struct {
+	Presence  string `json:"presence"`
+	StatusMsg string `json:"status_msg"`
+}
+
+// The new presence state. One of: ["online", "offline", "unavailable"]
+var allowedPresence = map[string]bool{
+	"online":      true,
+	"offline":     true,
+	"unavailable": true,
+}
+var allowedStrings []string
+
+// we only need to do this once
+func init() {
+	allowedStrings = make([]string, len(allowedPresence))
+	i := 0
+	for k := range allowedPresence {
+		allowedStrings[i] = k
+		i++
+	}
+}
+
+func SetPresence(req *http.Request, eduAPI api.EDUServerInputAPI, device *userapi.Device) util.JSONResponse {
+	data, err := ioutil.ReadAll(req.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return util.JSONResponse{
+			Code: http.StatusBadRequest,
+			JSON: jsonerror.BadJSON("The request body could not be read: " + err.Error()),
+		}
+	}
+	defer req.Body.Close() // nolint:errcheck
+
+	// parse the request
+	var r presenceRequest
+	err = json.Unmarshal(data, &r)
+	if err != nil {
+		return util.JSONResponse{
+			Code: http.StatusBadRequest,
+			JSON: jsonerror.BadJSON("The request body could not be read: " + err.Error()),
+		}
+	}
+
+	// requested new presence is not allowed by the spec
+	if !allowedPresence[r.Presence] {
+		return util.JSONResponse{
+			Code: http.StatusBadRequest,
+			JSON: jsonerror.BadJSON(
+				fmt.Sprintf("The 'presence' field only allows one of: %s [sent: %s]", strings.Join(allowedStrings, ", "), r.Presence),
+			),
+		}
+	}
+
+	logrus.WithFields(logrus.Fields{
+		"userId":     device.UserID,
+		"presence":   r.Presence,
+		"status_msg": r.StatusMsg,
+	}).Debug("Setting presence for user")
+
+	if err := api.SetPresence(
+		req.Context(),
+		eduAPI,
+		device.ID,
+		r.Presence,
+		r.StatusMsg,
+		gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now()),
+	); err != nil {
+		return util.ErrorResponse(err)
+	}
+
+	return util.JSONResponse{
+		Code: http.StatusOK,
+		JSON: struct{}{},
+	}
+}
+
+func GetPresence(req *http.Request, eduAPI api.EDUServerInputAPI, userID string) util.JSONResponse {
+
+	return util.JSONResponse{
+		Code: http.StatusOK,
+		JSON: struct{}{},
+	}
+}
diff --git a/clientapi/routing/routing.go b/clientapi/routing/routing.go
index 01b9a4057..b94b01277 100644
--- a/clientapi/routing/routing.go
+++ b/clientapi/routing/routing.go
@@ -895,4 +895,22 @@ func Setup(
 			return SetReceipt(req, eduAPI, device, vars["roomId"], vars["receiptType"], vars["eventId"])
 		}),
 	).Methods(http.MethodPost, http.MethodOptions)
+	r0mux.Handle("/presence/{userId}/status",
+		httputil.MakeAuthAPI("set_presence", userAPI, func(req *http.Request, device *userapi.Device) util.JSONResponse {
+			if r := rateLimits.rateLimit(req); r != nil {
+				return *r
+			}
+			return SetPresence(req, eduAPI, device)
+		}),
+	).Methods(http.MethodPut, http.MethodOptions)
+	r0mux.Handle("/presence/{userId}/status",
+		httputil.MakeAuthAPI("get_presence", userAPI, func(req *http.Request, device *userapi.Device) util.JSONResponse {
+			vars, err := httputil.URLDecodeMapValues(mux.Vars(req))
+			if err != nil {
+				return util.ErrorResponse(err)
+			}
+
+			return GetPresence(req, eduAPI, vars["userId"])
+		}),
+	).Methods(http.MethodGet, http.MethodOptions)
 }