AQW 26353/17-22 Written question to the Minister for Communities

To ask the Minister for Communities to detail the number of Housing Executive properties in the South Antrim constituency which are deemed to have inadequate or inefficient insulation.

Asked by John Blair MLA on 24 November 2021

  • Answered
  • Written
  • After due date
Tabled
24 November 2021
Answer due by
9 December 2021
Answered
15 December 202121 days after tabling
Department
Department for Communities
Priority question
No

Answer

The Housing Executive has advised that loft insulation is installed in 3054 of its South Antrim properties, however there is no data available on 7 properties where loft insulation would be applicable.

The depth of insulation that is in these properties complies with the standards that were in place at the time of installation. The current Building Regulations requirement for loft insulation is 270 mm of insulation. However, this requirement is not retrospective and only applies when improvement works are being undertaken that affect this part of the property. The Housing Executive complies with this requirement when it is carrying out heating replacement or other relevant improvement measures that would need Building Control approval.

The following table provides a breakdown of loft insulation for Housing Executive properties in South Antrim.

ConstituencyLoft Insulation InstalledNo Data
Less than 270mm270mm +Total
South Antrim1972108230547

The Housing Executive has advised that 63% of the 825 Housing Executive properties it surveyed had cavity wall insulation that did not meet current industry standards.

The table below illustrates the estimated number of Housing Executive properties in South Antrim that have cavity wall insulation that does not meet current industry standards by applying this 63% finding to the total of cavity wall properties in each constituency.

ConstituencyEstimated Number of Dwellings which don’t meet CWI Standard
South Antrim1896

Official sources