New laws to offer residential rental leases of up to 10 years are being considered by the Victorian Government in order to provide better protection for those who cannot break into the housing market.

Consumer Affairs Minister Jane Garrett said she would investigate whether five or 10-year leases were fair for landlords, while offering better protection for low-income earners, the elderly and those with disabilities.

"For people now for whom renting now is a medium to long-term option, they're often being faced with being kicked out of their houses every 12 months to two years," Ms Garrett said.

"This creates a lot of uncertainty and distress and we want to make sure that for people who need to rent for longer periods, that they are able to have some certainty around their housing options.

"There's complexity around this obviously. How do you get rent increases? What does happen if somebody needs to unexpectedly move or the property owner needs to sell?

"That's why we're having such a detailed consultation, because we want to get the balance right."

Public consultation is now underway as part of the three-year review into the Residential Tenancy Act.

Emma King from the Victorian Council of Social Services said the Government had fallen behind when it came to reforming residential tenancy laws.

"We know that significant numbers of people are going to be renters for life, so we really need to modernise tenancy laws to reflect this new reality," Ms King said.

"We need to strengthen the security of tenure and private rental, as well as adopt minimum rental standards [to protect] tenants.

"Really, Australia and Victoria, we've been behind the eight-ball so we think this is an absolute move in the right direction.

"We think it can provide considerable security, particularly for those people who've been priced out of the housing market.

"For some tenants... if they have to move regularly often they have to have their children change schools and a whole host of other things."

Ms King said it would provide more security for people struggling financially and those priced out of the housing market.

Ms Garrett said long-term leases were common practice overseas.

"This is really important because the way Victorians are living has changed dramatically," she said.

"A lot of people don't seek to own their own homes or can't.

"We know in Europe long-term leases are very common because of the fact that there are lot more people renting than seeking to own their own home.

"We just want to make sure there are options in our system that gives certainty to both tenants and landlords."