The rental shortage in south-west Victoria is the worst is has ever been, according to Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan.
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He said there were people from all walks of life who were struggling to find affordable rentals that were fit to live in.
"At the moment there is a perfect storm against people on a low income who want to get a roof over their heads," Mr Riordan said.
"There are a lot of older single people - men and women - who have worked hard all their lives who don't have access to respectable housing.
"It's a crime in this day and age."
Mr Riordan's comments come in the wake of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria revealing vacancy rates in the region were at just 1.2 per cent.
He said there were a number of factors that were contributing to the rental crisis.
Top of the list is the lack of public housing across the region, he said.
Mr Riordan said as a result he had spoken to people who were forced to live in their cars.
"We can and we should fix this," he said.
"The situation is worse now than ever and there is no money identified for country public housing."
Another factor that is contributing to the chronic shortage is the state government's new tenancy laws, according to Mr Riordan.
He said the laws made it more difficult for landlords to evict unsuitable tenants.
Related content: Vacancy levels across the south-west plummet
Mr Riordan said he believed some investors were beginning to look at other ways to make money.
One of the more attractive ways to do so is short-term rentals through accommodation sharing platforms such as Airbnb.
"Some small time investors are beginning to realise they can get good returns with less hassle," Mr Riordan said.
"You don't get lingering tenants and there is a lot less wear and tear on properties."
One south-west landlord, who asked not to be named, owned a rental property for 10 years before selling it.
"In that time we had to evict two tenants due to the disgraceful state of the house," she said.
The home owner said one of those tenants left two skip bins worth of rubbish she had to pay to have removed.
"The house had to be professionally deep cleaned at our expense and the carpet had to be cleaned three times to get the smell out," she said.
The tenants also didn't pay rent for a month and their bond didn't even go close to covering the cost of cleaning and repairs.
Another tenant had damaged every single wall in the property.
This resulted in the decision to sell the house.
"The real estate agents told us that you can't tell people how to live - which is very true, but we had to make a choice about whether we subject ourselves to the stress and financial duress of having people in a house that they just don't care about," she said.
"That choice was to not be involved in the rental market."
The surge in popularity in property owners choosing to rent their homes as an Airbnb has not only affected the available homes to rent, it has also resulted in questions about whether they should have to adhere to the same regulations as other accommodation providers.
In Broome the council has gone as far as to ban people from renting their homes out under accommodation sharing platforms. Instead, they have been told they have to register their property as a bed and breakfast and follow those regulations or be hit with a hefty fine.
Mr Riordan said he believed Airbnbs had a role to play - particularly when there had been very few large-scale accommodation projects in the past few years along the Great Ocean Road - but he thinks regulations should be stricter.
"I would like to see Airbnbs registered with the shire," he said.
"I believe they should have inspections just as motels do."
Mr Riordan said it was clear communities such as Port Campbell needed Airbnbs for the growing number of visitors, but long-term rentals were also needed.
Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell said there should be an even playing field for accommodation providers.
"A starting point would be to introduce a registration fee for residential homes offered through the unregulated market," she said.
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