$217m to fix state houses

Housing NZ Corporation's maintenance and repair bills on the 69,000 houses it manages rose by $37 million in the last year, its income statement shows.

It cost $180 million to maintain and fix the country's state housing stock in the year to June, 2008. This rose to $217 million in the year to June, 2009.

A Housing NZ spokeswoman said the extra $37 million "will be due to the Government's re-focus away from acquisitions and more towards maintenance".

The rates bill is up $11 million from $98 million to $109 million.

The operating revenue rose from $891 million in 2008 to $952 million this year. The corporation said rental income was its primary funding. Of this year's $952 million operating revenue, $887 million came from rental income, $60 million from other operational funding and $15 million from interest, realised gains and other income.

Most of Housing NZ's revenue - 54 per cent - comes from income-related rent subsidies, 39 per cent comes from tenants, 5 per cent from Crown appropriation and 2 per cent from interest, realised gains and other income.