Northern Tasmanian Stephen Leary bristles with anger as he talks about the small cabin at an East Devonport caravan park that his daughter and her three children are paying hundreds of dollars a week to live in.

His daughter, Kristy Roberts, said she moved into the caravan park just after her marriage broke down about two years ago.

She had no rental history, could not work because of her medication, and was grateful to find a secure roof over her head.

Her two teenage kids, Phoebe and Wyatt, were living elsewhere at the time, meaning the small caravan she found at East Devonport suited her "fine".

The family was given a slight upgrade when her two elder children returned home and Ms Roberts had a third child, but not by much.

"It's just one big room," she said.

"Phoebe's 15 and Wyatt's 14, it's not good for them at their ages. There was a hole in the [bathroom] floor, they told us to put extra towels down. I worry every day that the manager is going to kick us out."

Ms Roberts said she'd applied to Housing Tasmania to get moved into a bigger house, but had heard very little back.

"I told housing, I don't care if I get a two bedroom place and have to sleep in the lounge, they need their privacy," she said.

"They just said, we'll let you know when there's something. They haven't said anything."

She said she'd also tried the private market, but had repeatedly missed out.

"I don't know what to do," Ms Roberts said.

"Being a single mum, it's hard, and with kids too people don't like renting to you. But my kids know you don't lie, you don't steal, you treat others with respect.

"I'm not anyone special, and I don't claim to be. I don't judge anyone - all I ask is the same in return. From the government too.

"Something needs to be done for all the people like me. If I've got to be outspoken about it to get something done, then I will."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mrs Roberts and her family are among about 4382 Tasmanians who are waiting on the housing register. Like the Robertses, many of these are currently in either secure or temporary accommodation.

As of last month, the waiting time for first priority applicants on the housing register had blown out to 90.3 weeks - nearly two years - according to data from the state Department of Communities.

When asked about the situation, Housing Minister Guy Barnett said he believed all Tasmanians "deserve a roof over their head", and that the government would build 1169 houses this year, and a total of 10,000 by 2032.

When asked by The Advocate how the government would manage that target among labour and supply shortages, Mr Barnett did not directly answer.

However, he said a memorandum of understanding had been signed "to collectively address the challenges in this sector and ensure we can deliver on our plan, including investigating ways to address supply chain challenges".

The Housing Minister also did not directly answer a question about his hopes of reducing the waiting list, which has more than doubled in number since the Liberal party came to power in 2014 under Will Hodgman.

A spokesperson for the Department of Communities, the state department responsible for housing, said the number of applicants on the housing register had fallen in five of the six months leading to April this year.

However, the list is still up by nearly 400 applicants compared to the same time last year.

They also said Tasmania's social housing dwellings were used "efficiently" over the last 12 months, with consistently over 99 per cent occupancy.

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