RESIDENTS living beside short-term lets have told The National of sleepless nights, police call-outs and years-long legal battles, warning Scotland’s licensing laws are failing to protect communities.
People living in Glasgow and Edinburgh said they had been subjected to late-night noise, parties, strangers trying to enter their homes and guests coming into private gardens.
Four years after licensing laws were introduced in a bid to tackle problematic holiday accommodation, residents claim illegal operators continue to exploit loopholes while enforcement remains patchy.
Official figures show Scotland’s local authorities had received more than 42,000 short-term let licence applications by the end of 2025.
Around 90% of validated applications had been granted, while just 6% were withdrawn, refused or suspended.
'I hope Scotland goes after these rogue Airbnbs'
Euan Lewis lives beside an Airbnb property in Glasgow’s east end which, he said, council officials have confirmed does not have planning permission or a short-term let licence.
He told The National that guests had repeatedly attempted to enter his home after mistaking it for the holiday let.
“There have been a few Airbnb guests who have tried to gain entry into my property,” he said.
“People ring the doorbells because they can’t find the lockboxes at midnight.
“I start work at seven in the morning and sometimes earlier than that, so it deprives me of sleep.”
Lewis said residents had also become concerned about what would happen if there was a fire or another serious incident inside the property.
“If there was a fire in that Airbnb, we might just have to suck it up and pay for it rather than the insurance paying for it because they’re not operating legally,” he said.
Despite contacting councillors, council planning officials and Police Scotland, he said he had been left frustrated by the lack of progress.
“The council planning department confirmed it was an illegal Airbnb but said they couldn’t enforce this,” he said.
“I was told it was a police matter, but I contacted the police over a year ago and the flat continues to operate as an Airbnb.
“I hope Scotland actually enforces the planning powers that already exist and goes after these rogue Airbnbs," he added.
'There was screaming and yelling and I had to call the police'
Lewis’s downstairs neighbour, Leona Irvine, said she had been forced to install a video doorbell after groups of guests staying above her left her feeling unsafe.
She recalled one occasion when she heard screaming and shouting coming from the property.
“There was a lot of screaming and yelling one night that sounded like a domestic incident and I had to call the police,” she said.
“There was a party of guys once for somebody’s birthday and I had to ask them to be quiet.
“It puts me in quite a vulnerable position because they know I’m downstairs and that I live alone.”
Irvine said the constant turnover of guests meant residents never knew who would be staying above them or how they would behave.
“You’re just at the mercy of them,” she said.
“They’re playing music however loud they want and there’s absolutely no consideration because there are no consequences for them.”
“I couldn’t relax in my own home”
In Edinburgh, one Leith resident spent more than three years fighting the renewal of a short-term let licence.
The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, successfully challenged the renewal earlier this year after a sheriff court ruled the property constituted a public nuisance.
However, she said the lengthy process had taken a severe toll on her health.
“The main impact on me was my health and my nervous system always being on alert for sleep disruption,” she said.
“Not knowing when I would be disrupted meant I couldn’t relax in my own home.”
She said neighbours were required to compile extensive evidence logs, take time off work to attend hearings and continue living with the disruption while appeals were considered.
“We don’t get any recompense for that,” she said.
“They’re organised and can hire professional lawyers, whereas residents have to navigate the process themselves.”
She accused council services of either being under-resourced or ineffective when dealing with complaints about short-term lets.
By law, short-term lets are able to continue operating while an appeal is ongoing.
“I wanted to be part of a community”
Elsewhere in Edinburgh, Helen Carlin said the spread of short-term lets was threatening the sense of community that had attracted her to the Rosebank Cottages area.
There are five short-term lets among the neighbourhood’s 36 properties, meaning holiday accommodation accounts for around 14% of all homes in the area.
“That’s the potential for five more relationships of community support that just isn’t there,” she said.
“I moved here because I wanted to be part of a community.
“We have a WhatsApp group, we help one another and that’s one of the things that’s so special around here.”
Carlin said residents relied on one another for practical help and support, but that relationship could not be replicated by visitors staying for only a few days.
“There is no value to the community of people staying here for three or four nights,” she said.
Her neighbour, Lorna, said guests staying in nearby short-term lets had also entered her garden to take photographs on multiple occasions.
“The scheme is too full of loopholes”
Leith has seen a huge growth in short-term lets in recent years and Living Rent Leith is preparing to launch a campaign calling for stronger action against short-term lets in the area.
Georgia Dodsworth, chair of Living Rent Leith, said Edinburgh did not need any more short-term lets and warned they had "decimated communities" across the city.
“The unchecked surge of short-term lets over the last decade has decimated communities in Edinburgh and forced long-term residents and tenants out of the city they call home,” she said.
Dodsworth said the current licensing system had failed to reduce the number of holiday lets operating in the capital.
“Edinburgh’s current licensing scheme does nothing to bring down the number of short-term lets,” she said.
“It is too full of loopholes and the council is completely failing to enforce it properly.
“Any licensing scheme is only as effective as its enforcement and the council has failed to properly enforce its scheme.”
She claimed operators were able to obtain licences by demonstrating that they had applied for planning permission, even when that permission had not been granted.
“Landlords are applying for permission, being given a licence, and then re-applying for planning permission, without it ever being granted,” she said.
“The council needs to stamp out illegal short-term lets, commit to a licensing scheme that does not let landlords off the hook and do more to bring homes back into permanent use.”
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Council said: “We have invested in six additional enforcement officers to help respond to concerns raised by residents.
“Complaints can be made directly to the Licensing Service or Enforcement teams via the links on the council website or by calling 0131 200 2000.
“Where a licensing decision is appealed, the process is managed by the courts, including managing the time taken to determination of an appeal.
“By law, an existing operator who appeals a decision is permitted to continue operating while the appeal is ongoing.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We support the purpose and intention of the Scottish Government’s short-term lets licensing scheme.
“Our officers will continue to work with local authority colleagues on any reported unlicensed properties and the suitability of those applying for a licence.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Short-term let licensing is achieving its intended purpose by regulating the sector to ensure consistent safety and quality standards are being met across Scotland.
“Action can be taken to revoke existing short-term let licences if the local authority considers there is good reason to do so.
“Licensing authorities and Police Scotland work together to consider and act on complaints about illegal short-term let operators, taking enforcement action as appropriate.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Under the terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, any unlicensed operation of a premises as short-term let is a matter for the police.”
