The ACT government, as part of its Labor-Greens power sharing agreement, has a goal to deliver 600 new affordable housing properties by 2025. The government has also planned to deliver 400 public housing properties in the same period.

The budget has allocated $100 million for public housing improvements and projects to grow the number of affordable dwellings. Of that, $19 million will be added to the growing and renewing public housing program.

But advocates have called on the government to provide more detail on how the 1000 properties are going to be delivered.

"While additional investments in housing are welcome, this budget has still not explained how the government will deliver its full promised commitment of 400 additional public housing dwellings and 600 additional affordable rental properties by the end of the parliamentary agreement," ACT Council of Social Services chief executive Emma Campbell said.

"Building of public houses needs to be accelerated and more support must be provided to community housing providers if the government is serious about meeting these targets."

Speaking at the Canberra Business Chamber's virtual budget breakfast on Thursday morning, YWCA chief executive Frances Crimmins said while she welcomed the $100 million funding, there was an urgent need for funding for social and affordable housing to be delivered now.

"The housing situation for social and affordable housing is dire," she said.

"The fundamental issue is we need affordable and social housing to come online now."

An additional $720,000 will be spent over four years to open an expressions of interest for firms to build and operate long-term rental housing in build-to-rent schemes.

But Ms Crimmins also renewed calls for land to be provided to community housing providers.

"I note there was a commitment to build-to-rent for affordable housing but I'd actually like to state that social and community housing has always been a build-to-rent model," she said.

"You can't provide an affordable housing solution if you have to pay market rate for land so somewhere in the building, the putting together of the development, there has to be a subsidy.

"We think we need to go back and look at that land supply for community housing providers to play a role in providing the significant update that we need."

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ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said work on delivering the affordable housing properties was continuing and would be in future budgets.

The Greens argued for the 1000 dwelling target in the parliamentary and governing agreement.

"There is certainly some very good discussions going on with community housing providers about how we enable this to happen and what role government is to play with its provision of land," Mr Rattenbury said.

"Most of the rest of that policy work that is progressing was not really tied to this year's budget but I expect to see where it comes from in the future."

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