There are more than 4000 applicants waiting for public housing in Tasmania and rents across each region of the state have increased between 11 per cent and 21 per cent over the past 12 months.

Mission Australia says the expiry of COVID-19 rental protections earlier this year resulted in an increased trend in evictions from the private rental market as well as substantial rent increases.

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It says people in casual or insecure work are more likely to be affected by these trends, given unemployment resulting from COVID-19 has much more deeply affected those in low-paid, insecure work.

Mission Australia state director Mychelle Curran said the government needed to expand and strengthen its approach to private rental subsidies.

She said NSW's rental subsidy model, which provided financial and other support over two to five years, should be adopted.

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The subsidy at the start brings private rent for a low-income household in line to what that household would pay in social housing and then gradually tapers off.

"A support plan linked to the subsidy works with a tenant so over time the subsidy decreases and they start to pay increased rent until it reaches the market level," Ms Curran said.

She said the subsidies allowed households to free up money that could be used to gain employment and training opportunities and provided certainty around a tenancy.

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Ms Curran said private rent subsidies did not require the upfront capital of construction of new public housing properties.

"It is a limited term subsidy for a fixed period and it does taper off," she said.

"Social housing quite rightly is needed by a whole range of people, but that's an ongoing subsidy for the full extent of the tenancy.

"Not only do public housing and social housing providers have the capital cost for the property, they have ongoing subsidies."