A spokesman for Housing Minister Andrew Barr said on Wednesday that all of the homes had been assessed for remnant asbestos fibres in February and were being repaired as a result.

The repairs were minor – resealing cornices and preventing access to sub-floors, and tenants had not had to move out while the work was being done, he said. Repairs would be finished this month.

He did not give details of what the assessments had found, beyond saying the loose-fill asbestos had been found in the wall cavities.

Mr Barr's spokesman said the safety of tenants was the paramount consideration. They had all been given copies of their asbestos assessments, reminded of the risk and asked not to do any maintenance or other work on their homes.

The maintenance contractor, Spotless, had also been given a copy of the assessments and management plans had been prepared.

Asked whether ACT Housing had been aware before this year that they were Mr Fluffy houses, he said only that the houses had been assessed last year, leaving open the possibility that work has been done on the homes over many years since the clean-up program of 1988-1993.

The properties were all houses, rather than flats, and were in different suburbs, he said.

The five houses are among more than 1000 around the city that had the dangerous loose-fill Mr Fluffy asbestos pumped into their ceilings as insulation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The asbestos was to have been removed in a clean-up 20 years ago but tests are showing many homes still have fibres in the walls and sub-floors.

The ACT and federal governments are working out whether homes can be fixed or must be demolished – and ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher has asked for a decision by next month to resolve the issues for families, a number of whom have been told to leave their homes after asbestos was found in living areas.

Ms Gallagher wants the federal government to help pay, according to a memorandum of understanding signed during the clean-up in 1991 that agreed on how to fund future work. The ACT would pay the first $10 million, the second $10 million would be shared evenly, and costs beyond that would be paid two-thirds by the Commonwealth and one-third by the ACT. Ms Gallagher met the federal minister responsible for the asbestos issue, Eric Abetz, last week but said he had made no commitment to funding according to the agreement but had not ruled it out.

On Wednesday Labor MPs Gai Brodtmann and Andrew Leigh and Senator Kate Lundy, as well as Liberal senator Zed Seselja, met Mr Abetz in his Parliament House office for an hour.

Fluffy Owners and Residents' Action Group spokeswoman Brianna Heseltine, who also attended, said the meeting had been "very positive" and she now wanted to see a national solution to the insulation problem.

More specific solutions were expected to be discussed towards the end of next month.

"There's a long road ahead but I'd like to think it wouldn't be too long,'' Ms Heseltine said. ''Time is of the essence, we are living in Fluffy homes and we don't want to be there.''

A spokesman for Mr Abetz said he was seeking urgent briefings and advice on the issue.