A Myrtleford resident who was evicted four times in 10 months to accommodate holidaymakers has highlighted a huge shortage in long-term living options across the Alpine town.
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Kellie Sheppard revealed her family of seven was forced to move house on four separate occasions within a year as properties they were renting became Airbnb options.
There has been a shortage of seasonal workers across the region, but Ms Sheppard said the lack of accommodation hadn't just affected people looking to relocate for employment.
"It's happening in the area too. Wherever people happen to be renting now, the owners of the property want to try and capitalise on the short-term rental market and they're finding themselves out of a home," she said.
"They're already here in the community with jobs and kids in school.
"One of our moves with our kids, we actually had to leave the area for six months because we just could not get anything here."
The former real estate agent would like more to be done to motivate homeowners to turn their dwellings back into long-term accommodation.
She has a investment property in Myrtleford and is investigating her options.
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"It's actually perfectly set up for holiday accommodation, but we just refuse to do that," Ms Sheppard said.
"Having been victims of it ourselves and also understanding the impact all of these Airbnbs are having on local businesses, we refuse to contribute to the problem. We want to contribute to the solution.
"The more short-term accommodation there is, an area like this doesn't have the capacity to expand and provide more infrastructure."
Paull and Scollard Real Estate's residential and commercial property manager Julie Saric said she began to see a shift in the rental market when owners started to move into their investment properties during COVID-19 lockdowns.
"The market has gone up substantially as well, it's following suit from Bright because of the demand and no-one is investing in rentals because of the cost of the houses," the Myrtleford estate agent said.
"Bright has a high rate of holiday occupancy and holiday accommodation and Myrtleford has started to follow suit. There are houses sitting there that don't have people in them all the time, which is a bit of a waste."
Ms Saric said property owners were lured in by the extra financial benefits of holiday accommodation, but stressed it came with risks, such as more "wear and tear" on properties due to the increased traffic through them.
Alpine Council has a program aimed at addressing the shortage of accommodation for key workers.
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