Housing NZ says it will add 1400 houses in Auckland in the next three years, after earlier mistakenly telling MPs it would only add 700.

Photo: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly

The social housing build programme will add 1400 houses in Auckland over the next three years, Housing New Zealand has confirmed this afternoon.

Earlier, chief executive Andrew McKenzie told Parliament's social services committee the corporation's build programme in the city was ambitious.

Overall, there will be nearly 5000 new homes built in Auckland over the next three years, with the majority replacing existing social houses, Mr McKenzie said.

He told the committee just 722 will be additional stock, he said.

"There would be a net growth in the volume of housing of 722. We are at a phase where we need to create capacity to be able to utilise the land better, so we need to create capacity to move our tenants into the new homes, free up land."

After the meeting, the figures were called misleading by the Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for the agency.

In reply, Housing New Zealand said in a statement that its chief executive used the wrong figures.

It said the build project was expected to boost house numbers in Auckland by 1400.

Phil Twyford, the Labour member on the committee, has written to the chair of the committee to request that the board chair and chief executive of Housing New Zealand be recalled immediately to correct the information presented.

Mr Twyford said earlier that the amount of new homes was a joke.

He said there were more than 2500 families on the social housing waiting list in Auckland.