The Bega Valley's affordable housing situation can be summed up with two words: absolutely terrible.
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And with a growing population, if the housing crisis continues on its current course without drastic intervention by all levels of government, it will only continue to worsen.
Many readers know the struggle of trying to find an affordable place to rent in this region, despite being told it is better than in the cities.
But there are also far fewer properties available to rent on the Far South Coast than in the cities.
For instance, a survey by the Bega District News on the real estate website Domain taken this week found only five properties for rent that were priced at under $250 per week.
Two had only one bedroom, and three were units - perhaps not the most desirable criteria, particularly for families.
The problem has only been compounded by the introduction of such enterprises as Airbnb which mean homeowners are choosing to rent their empty properties to holidayers instead of permanent residents.
In fact, Bega Valley Shire councillor Cathy Griff said the shire had a large proportion of long-term vacant homes, approximately 23 per cent.
It is understandable.
Having a person in your property for only a couple of nights a week means less wear and tear on the building while you can still earn a very good income.
For example, on Airbnb there are three different properties across Merimbula and Pambula you can rent for an eye-boggling $2000 per night each.
But an increase in the use of Airbnb means more properties have been locked up by owners for short term stays, instead of people looking to live and work in the region.
In order to try and encourage owners to open their properties up to permanent renters, Cr Griff said an idea was to bring in an empty homes rates levy such as the one recently introduced in Melbourne.
This is a Greens' proposition, of which she is a member.
South East Women And Children Services south east youth accommodation service program manager Kylie Furnell thought the way to encourage more owners to rent out their properties was to educate them about how services such as SEWACS supported tenants.
"If owners knew what services did, they might have a bit more faith," she said.