Northern Ireland’s own tradesperson platform

The NI Home Improvement Cost Index 2026 benchmarks what kitchens, bathrooms, extensions, roofs, windows, rewires and oil boilers actually cost in Northern Ireland, plus statutory fees across all 11 councils and the live grants landscape. Every figure is sourced, dated and free to reuse with attribution. If you need a number that isn’t published, ask: we usually have it.

The hidden lead-fee tax on your building quote

On pay-per-shortlist trade platforms, several tradespeople pay to chase each job and most lose that money, so lost lead fees are quietly built into the quotes homeowners receive. NI Trades is structured differently: tradespeople respond to jobs free, each job is capped at three vetted responses, and the platform is funded by flat subscriptions rather than per-lead charges. The result is a structural claim worth examining: quotes that price the work, not the cost of winning it. The founder can walk through the economics on the record.

GB trade platforms barely cover Northern Ireland

On 4 July 2026, Checkatrade’s own public search page for builders in Belfast displayed exactly one listed builder ("1 Builders in Belfast", checkatrade.com/Search/Builder/in/Belfast) for a city of around 345,000 people. GB-wide platforms also price in GB terms and have little visibility of NI-specific realities such as OFTEC oil-heating registration or council Building Control. NI Trades exists because Northern Ireland works differently and deserves a platform built for it.

What home improvement really costs in NI, with data

The NI Home Improvement Cost Index 2026 compiles researched local pricing across ten categories: kitchens, bathrooms, extensions per square metre, roofs, windows, rewires, oil boilers, gas safety, Building Control fees across all 11 councils, and planning fees, including the striking gap between the £347 NI householder planning fee and the €34 equivalent in the Republic. All figures are free to cite with attribution.

Oil nation: the heating story GB coverage misses

Around 63 per cent of NI homes heat with oil, the highest share in the UK, yet UK-wide consumer coverage routinely assumes mains gas. From boiler replacement costs to the OFTEC engineers the work legally depends on, NI Trades publishes the oil-heating data and guidance that national outlets miss.

The £150m Warm Healthy Homes Fund and who will install it

The Department for Communities’ Warm Healthy Homes Fund consultation runs to 19 August 2026, with the £150m fund expected from April 2027. The under-covered question is delivery: insulation and heating upgrades need registered local installers at a time when the construction skills shortage is well documented. NI Trades submitted a detailed consultation response on 10 July 2026, published in full at nitrades.co.uk/research/whhf-consultation-response-2026, including the finding that the proposed £500 remedial-works allowance is routinely exhausted by a single pre-installation repair at real NI prices.

Built in Belfast, taking on the national giants

NI Trades does its vetting calls, guide research and homeowner support in-house from Belfast, taking on national platforms with honesty as the differentiator, including publishing exactly what its checks do and do not cover. Checkatrade itself began as one paper directory in one small town; NI Trades is betting the same local-first playbook wins Northern Ireland.