1 month ago
10
January 30, 2026 — 3:30pm
Luke Baird does not have much choice in where he can live. As a paramedic, he must reside within eight kilometres or a 10-minute commute from his station, so he can turn out quickly to an emergency when he’s on call.
But in the popular Victorian coastal town of Lorne, finding somewhere close to work and affordable has become increasingly difficult.
When Baird’s previous rental agreement was about to expire last year, he set out to find another home in town with his partner and their two young children.
Despite months of searching through real estate agents, Baird was unable to find another rental property. There was simply nothing listed that came close to meeting his family’s needs.
“It was getting pretty stressful,” he said.
Lorne’s housing market has long been tightly held, making it exceedingly difficult for essential workers, including teachers, nurses, emergency services and hospitality workers to find long-term rental properties. However, the need to attract those workers is widely recognised.
The Surf Coast Shire is urging the state government to implement a pilot program in which property owners would be eligible for land tax exemptions if they lease houses to essential workers for a minimum of 24 months to try to address the shortage.
With many properties in the area serving as holiday homes, the shire believes some houses in Lorne are empty for long periods. Figures from the 2021 census show 62 per cent of the 1755 dwellings in Lorne were unoccupied.
Separate figures supplied by the shire showed the rental vacancy rate was zero in Lorne, while there were 465 short-term listings on Airbnb for the same year.
Price is also a major factor for essential workers like Baird, who said renting in Lorne was the only realistic option for his family. They own a small property in Yarraville in Melbourne’s inner west, but he said even if they sold it, the cost of buying a house in Lorne would be much higher – the median price for a three-bedroom home is $1.68 million, according to sales data from Domain.
“Our mortgage would more than double if we were to sell and buy something down here,” he said. “It’s a unique housing market. And the rental market is very challenging because there’s just no supply.”
Baird said he backed the council’s proposal to secure long-term rental homes for essential workers.
The council estimates the average cost of waiving land tax for 20 homes over 12 months would be $74,000, while building 10 modular homes would cost $2 million if it contributed the value of the land.
Surf Coast Shire Mayor Libby Stapleton said the land tax exemption was a community-led proposal.
“That’s something that we would definitely hope to roll out in other suitable locations and replicate it in other towns on the Surf Coast, like Aireys Inlet and Anglesea,” she said.
The Surf Coast Shire declared a key worker housing crisis in 2021. But Stapleton said the Lorne community had been searching for solutions to its housing problems for decades and that state government help was needed.
“We’ve declared a key worker housing crisis on the Surf Coast. So we’re doing everything we can at a local level to improve that situation,” she said.
However, the state government confirmed it was not considering the proposal. A spokesperson said its short-stay levy and vacant residential land tax were designed to encourage more owners to make their dwellings available for longer-term rent or sale.
The spokesperson said the regional worker accommodation fund was also providing more housing for workers near their jobs.
“The only way out of the housing crisis is to increase supply – that’s why we’re streamlining the planning process, and building more homes close to jobs, transport and services,” the spokesperson said.
Eventually, Baird resorted to Facebook to secure a rental property after real estate agents were unable to source one.
He wants to keep living in Lorne – the town he calls home. But he fears the stress will return again if his lease expires, the landlord decides it is time for them to move out, and he needs to find another rental home.
“We’ve got a 12-month agreement,” he said. “But we’re most likely going to be in the same situation next year.”
