The demand for social and public housing in the northern and southern suburbs is far out of supply, including hundreds of applications for family-size houses.
The ABC shows that there are almost 50 applications for three and four-bedroom social houses in the suburb of Glenorchy, with the second largest need in Claremont and Kingston.
There are 151 applications for one-bedroom and 85 for two-bedrooms in these suburbs, which have a high demand for smaller premises, including 151 applications for one-bedrooms and 85 for two-bedrooms in Glenorchy.
Shelley Ford, who became homeless in mid- 2020 after a relationship breakdown, is among those on the waiting list.
She can't afford the $350 a week rent in the private market, and has couch surfed with family in Bridgewater with her 15-year-old niece, who she cares for but has struggled to stay in school because of the uncertainty.
They have spent time in a tent in Fortescue Bay.
She was offered brokered accommodation at a caravan park, which she was keen to accept, but was incorrectly told that it would move her to the back of the list for social housing.
I see all these empty houses. She said I ring my worker and say to them about these properties, and yeah, nothing becomes of them.
It's sad that you're not sure where you're going to put your head down that night, and the next night it's just horrible, it's not knowing where you're going to put your head down.
I've never been in this situation before. Looking far and wide for housing fails to get results.
Social housing applicants can list as many suburbs as they like in their preferences, which Ms Ford said she had done for Hobart.
She has been on the social housing waiting list for 125 weeks, well above the rolling 12 month average of 70 weeks in Tasmania. In the last few years, this figure has been steadily climbing.
In June, Labor asked Housing Minister Guy Barnett how he could help, because he raised Ms Ford's story in Parliament.
He said that the government would do all we can to support her, but Ms Ford said she has had little contact since.
I haven't heard a word. She said she was lost in the system. It's like it's like I'm lost in the system.
Demand for social housing does not end at Hobart's borders.
There are 19 applications for three-bedroom social housing in the Sorell council area and 37 for one-bedroom. There are similar levels of demand in the Huon Valley and Derwent Valley.
The government plans to create a new statutory authority, Homes Tasmania, which passed the lower house and is due to be debated in the upper house this week.
Labor housing spokesman Ella Haddad said the party remained opposed to this, with concerns that there would not be any new powers for the government to speed-track affordable housing supply.
She said that Tasmanians facing homelessness needed more emergency options.
It's too long to wait for Shelley and her family for ten years. The government needs to be doing more right now for emergency housing solutions, because many people don't have 10 weeks to wait, let alone 10 years, and many people don't have 10 weeks to wait, Ms Haddad said.
The government probably has good intentions, but the worry for many people working in the sector is that there won't be any new powers for Homes Tasmania. Barnett said Homes Tasmania was designed to take what works so well in the community housing sector to deliver more houses.
He said that it will complement the investments we are making to help those in housing stress, investing $36 million a year on wrap around homelessness support, including specialist homelessness services, and Safe Spaces across the state.