A LANDLORD has been blasted for illegally renting a flat to “nightmare” tenants blamed for flooding one of the city’s most recognisable buildings with rodents and “urinating vagrants”.

Anna Lamotte, whose Charing Cross Mansions property in the city centre, was rented for four years, had her bid for a houses in multiple occupation (HMO) permit booted out by city chiefs.

Her tenants were blamed for attracting rodents, clogging gutters and allowing “vagrants” to urinate and sleep in the A -Listed city centre building.

Other owners in the building claimed they had been forced to clean-up chips, kebabs and smashed glass which had been left strewn across common areas.

Gillian Booth, who manages the property on Ms Lamotte’s behalf, insisted she was unaware of those issues – despite her own son living in the flat.

She said: “We weren’t told about these problems.

“There was one party which was meant to finish at 12.15am but if finished at 1am. As far as I know there has been nothing else for the past 12 months.”

The landlord was reported to Glasgow’s HMO unit last year after it was discovered Ms Lamotte was renting the flat out to four students without the necessary licence.

Dr Rebecca McDonald, who lives in a neighbouring flat, described discovering Ms Lamotte had been operating illegally as “upsetting”. She described a list of unsavoury incidents which she blamed on the four students living in Ms Lamotte’s flat.

Dr McDonald said: “Every year we get new tenants in that aren’t aware that because we live in the city centre, they need to make sure the main door is closed. If it isn’t, people come into the building.

“We have a lot of people coming in to pee, vomit, do drugs and sleep. It’s really concerning to me and we’ve had some scary incidents.

“There was never an issue with rodents before. We have a private company coming to put down poison and they said it was primarily coming from that property. The people who come to clean the gutter are pulling out cigarette butts and pantyhose which have come from this flat.”

Another neighbour, Marie Troupe, described living next to the Ms Lamotte’s flat as “an absolute nightmare”.

She claimed that she had to walk past “vagrants” lying on the stairs as she left for work in the morning. And she revealed that she had to sweep up chips, kebabs and smashed beer bottles in the close and in the back court.

In summing up, licensing committee chairman Alex Wilson blasted Ms Lamotte and the property manager Ms Booth. He said: “Surely your family members who live there could be able to tell you what’s going on Ms Booth. But they might be burying their heads in the sand, like you have.”

Members of the licensing board agreed to reject the HMO licence application, meaning the tenants in the flat will now have to leave.