Short-term let host blocked from renting out Broomhouse home by councillors over 'parties and drug use'

A short-term let host has been blocked from renting their Broomhouse home after fed-up neighbours complained about ‘parties and drug use’.

Residents living near the Easter Hawhill Gate property said the house had been used by groups of “more than 15” without a short-term let licence in place.

They told Glasgow’s licensing committee that Claris Ankunda’s home was let to stag and hen parties, causing disruption in the area.

Councillors rejected the applicant’s bid for a licence, after Cllr Alex Wilson, SNP, who chairs the committee, said the situation was unacceptable.

Neither the applicant or their letting agent were able to attend the hearing. Six objections to the application had been received.

Dr Emma Murphy said the property, in a “small residential estate”, had been let for six months without the required permission.

“You could quite clearly see on the council website that it had been knocked back on two occasions, but they opted to go ahead with it,” she added.

“That’s a concern to us, it clearly shows disregard to our neighbours.”

She added the property, which cost around £350 a night to rent, had been advertised for a maximum of seven people, but on occasions there had been more than 15.

“There was criminal behaviour going on and there was drug dealing taking place,” Dr Murphy claimed.

The partner of Kate Sword, another objector, told the committee they had a young child in the house and, before Christmas, there were “nothing but issues with the people who attended that property”.

He said they had been woken up at 2am by “people chapping our door, thinking it was funny”. “This was grown men,” he added.

Councillors were also told there was a smell of cannabis “on a daily basis” and, during one party, around 24 people had been counted in the garden.

Cllr Wilson said letting the property without a licence would have meant the applicant’s insurance was invalid. “If there was a fire at the home or anything else, they are not covered by their insurance because of what they’ve done,” he added.

He told neighbours to contact Police Scotland if the property continued to be used as a short-term let.