Residents in Inverness apartment block say short term let properties have spoilt home life

Retired NHS worker Jacky Kirby has lived in her first-floor apartment in Old Edinburgh Court in Inverness for the past 11 years.

For much of the time, it has been without issue.

But in the last couple of years, she says things have changed with six of the 24 flats in the historic building - which once served as Hilton Hospital - now being used as short term let properties.

“It has spoilt home life,” she reflects.

“This was our home but it doesn’t feel like our home any more.

“It is bloody horrendous.”

• Inverness community voices concerns over rise in Airbnb-type accommodation

• 'It is going to be soulless' - fears over neighbourhood's changing character

• 800-name petition calls for proposed tourist tax to be used to address housing crisis

She echoes the views of others in buildings located just off Old Edinburgh Road.

Their concerns have been brought to the attention of Crown and City Centre Community Council and local councillors who have voiced disquiet about a rise in short term let or holiday properties in the area, saying it is adding to the city’s housing crisis.

Community leaders fear it is “crowding out” long-term residents and are calling for rules to be introduced to limit their numbers.

In the case of her building, Ms Kirby cites issues such as visitors coming and going at all hours of the night.

“If they have difficulty getting in, or they cannot remember the code, or work the lock, they ring all our buzzers,” she says.

She has also noticed more rubbish including empty bottles by the main entrance to the building.

“It is just not on,” she says. “It is not acceptable.

“We don’t feel we are receiving respect.

“These flats are our homes.

“The building is not a hotel. It is not a business.”

Retired teacher Susan Little, who has lived in her two-bedroom flat since 2005, also feels strongly about the changing nature of the building as flats are snapped up to rent out for holiday accommodation.

Although she is not too disturbed by the noise in her part of the building, she says other residents have been affected by rowdy behaviour and noise such as suitcases being pulled across the floor.

She says it can feel quite intimidating to encounter strangers wandering around the building.

“Before you knew who people were,” she said.

“Now, I don’t have the faintest idea who people are.”

She, too, cites the issue of visitors struggling to access their holiday accommodation.

“I have had people wanting to come in and get a cup of tea from me,” she says.

Ms Little believes there should be a cap on the numbers of short term let properties.

When Fay Cartwright bought her flat in 2023, it was very quiet, she says.

“I have noticed over the last 18 to 20 months, it has got busier. It is noisier,” she says.

“It’s the safety and security I worry about.

“You don’t know who is staying the building.

“There are issues with people wandering around the building.

“You like to feel safe in your own home.”

She says rubbish, including cigarette butts and cigarette packets, have been left by the entrance while on one occasion the front door had been left propped open with large stones.

During the summer, it can be a struggle to park a car in her allocated space.

“This is our home at the end of the day,” she says.

Ms Cartwright, a health care worker, is concerned about the growth of short term let properties and the impacts on the local community as well as those looking for somewhere to live.

“It was difficult when I was looking to buy my property,” she says.

“There is a housing crisis.

“I know doctors at the hospital are struggling to find accommodation for long term rental.”

---

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.

---