Albanese government shows signs of progress on Housing Australia Future Fund, but ACT Senator David Pocock says there's still room to improve

The Jacqui Lambie Network senators agreed to back the Housing Australia Future Fund after Tasmania was guaranteed 1200 affordable homes in negotiations with the government, a provision that will extend to all other states and territories.

It is the first breakthrough since April in a stalemate over the bill, but the government still needs the support of the Greens in the Senate to pass the $10 billion fund, which would generate 30,000 social and affordable housing properties in its first five years.

ACT Independent senator David Pocock, who has also been locked in negotiations, said the deal was "not a huge net gain" for Canberra.

"The starting point for me has been the scale," he told ABC radio on Thursday morning.

"This $10 billion fund is not up to the scale of the housing challenge that we see."

Senator Pocock said he had been frustrated by the government's refusal to index the fund and to allow the housing minister to hand out more than $500 million per year to states and territories, if the fund earns above that.

"I'm not going to stand in the way of a $10 billion fund," he said.

"But I do expect a government to take on board advice from experts around indexing a fund or allowing it to disperse more when it returns more and that isn't the case in this instance."

The ACT has a shortfall of more than 3000 social houses, with this number to grow in coming years, while Canberra is the second most expensive city to rent in after Sydney.

Housing Minister Julie Collins said the government was confident the deal was "a good arrangement".

"What we have seen in the past through some federal government programs, particularly around social housing is both of the territories got zero and what we want to do is make sure that every state and territory gets their fair share of funding," Ms Collins also told ABC radio on Thursday.

"They put a proposition to us, we've had a good look at it, and we're pretty confident that it is a good arrangement whereby every state territory gets their fair share of funding and homes."

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Senator Tyrrell said it was a "massive victory" for Tasmania, which she had estimated was set to gain 600 homes in the first five years of the fund.

"The only thing standing in the way of this now is the Greens party," she said in a statement.

She implored Greens senators for Tasmania Nick McKim and Peter Whish-Wilson to "vote yes, and Tasmania gets 1,200 homes".

"They can vote no, and Tasmania gets nothing."

The Greens continue to demand additional measures to address the housing shortage and relieve pressure on renters, with Adam Bandt declaring it will become "the party of renters".

The party wants the government to introduce a national rental freeze costed at $4.8 billion over three years, to be funded through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement.

They have have also called for a $5 billion fund to build 225,000 publicly-owned housing and a $10.9 billion proposal to double rent assistance for 1.4 million students, single parents, pensioners, people with disabilities, families and those looking for work.

The total $69.4 billion package of reforms could be offset by ending some tax breaks for the wealthy.

"The old parties are failing to take renters seriously, but there has been a significant change," Mr Bandt told the National Press Club last week.

"We now have seats around the country where the majority of people who live in those seats rent ... more people rent than own their property in any other means.

"There is a seachange under way that has not that the others have not caught up with."