House Condition Survey

The 2006 Housing Conditions Survey

The 2006 Report is now available. Reports can also be requested by contacting the Research Unit.

Background

We have conducted a House Condition Survey every five years in Northern Ireland since 1974. The Survey provides a comprehensive insight into housing in Northern Ireland. It provides key information which helps develop housing policy and target resources where they are most needed. An Interim House Condition Survey was carried out in 2004. (The Statistical Annex for this survey is also available.)

The 2006 Survey will provide figures for unfitness in the housing stock, the Decent Homes Standard, Fuel Poverty and the Housing Health and Safety Rating system.The Survey covers all tenures and types of housing including owner occupied and rented housing, vacant dwellings, houses in multiple occupation, flats and sheltered accommodation.

Parallel surveys are also conducted in England, Scotland and Wales.

Objectives

The key objectives for the 2006 Northern Ireland House Condition Survey are:

  • To provide a comprehensive picture of the dwelling stock and its condition in 2006 at district council as well as Northern Ireland level;
  • To enable a comparative analysis of housing conditions in Northern Ireland to be made with other parts of the United Kingdom measured in terms of Unfitness, State of Repair, Decent Homes, Energy Efficiency and the Housing Health and Safety Rating;
  • To examine the association between dwelling conditions and the social and economic circumstances of households;
  • To examine changes in the condition of the stock over time;
  • To examine the impact of home improvement grants in reducing unfitness;
  • To provide a reliable assessment of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland as a whole on a comparable basis with the rest of the United Kingdom.

The objectives have remained broadly consistent with those in 1996 and 2001. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a new government measure which is now used in England but so far has not been adopted in Northern Ireland.

However, the 2001 HCS measured what proportion and type of housing stock failed this standard. The 2006 HCS will provide updated figures for HHSRS in Northern Ireland.

The survey will also provide updated profiles of key sub sectors of the market, in particular the private rented sector and sold Housing Executive dwellings, as well as providing robust housing and demographic information for use in the assessment of future housing needs.

Progress

The Draft Report was completed in May 2008.

Contact Details

If you would like further information on the survey or have any comments to make, please contact:

Project leader - Jahnet Brown

The Housing Centre
2 Adelaide Street
Belfast BT2 8PB