Use this when you are comparing roofers for a repair or a re-roof. It lists what to ask about the survey, the scaffold, the waste and the paperwork, and what the law gives you if you sign.
Hiring a roofer is an odd purchase. You cannot see the finished work from your own front door, you will not climb up to check it, and the weather decides whether a shortcut shows up in a month or in five years. That makes the questions you ask before work starts matter more than anything you can inspect afterwards.
The checklist below is built for choosing a roofer in Kent, whether the job is roof work across Thanet and East Kent or a single repair. A few local details change the answers. The county council licenses scaffold on the road, building control differs from one council to the next, and a coastal wind affects how a roof should be fixed. None of it is hard to ask about, and a roofer who is used to the questions will answer them without fuss.
Badges and logos prove less than they seem to, because a logo shows only what a firm says about itself. The checks here show what a firm does: how it surveys, what it puts in writing, who applies for the paperwork, where the waste goes and what you are entitled to if you change your mind.
Collect written quotes, then read what they promise
Citizens Advice recommends collecting at least 3 written quotes from different traders before you pick one. Spoken prices on a doorstep are not quotes, and a figure scribbled on the back of a card settles nothing. Ask each firm for a written total price after it has looked at the roof, and give all of them the same brief so the answers can be weighed fairly.
A price that arrives before anyone has looked at the roof is a guess. A repair to a few slipped slates and a full re-cover are different jobs, and only a survey shows which one you have. Our note on how many roofing quotes to collect goes further into that question.
When the quotes arrive, check that each one states:
- the address and the part of the roof the price covers
- the covering, and the repairs to timbers, lead and flashings that are part of the job
- whether VAT is included, as the standard rate is 20%
- whether scaffold and waste removal are in the total
- a start window, a likely duration and how weather delays are handled
Differences between quotes tell you something. A low total might leave out the scaffold, or a different covering might sit behind a similar-looking sum. A quote that cannot say what it leaves out is the one to push back on first, and a roofer who writes the scope clearly is making it easy to hold them to it.
What to ask about the survey
A proper survey comes before a price, and you should be able to see what the roofer saw. Ask whether the roofer will go up, look at the slopes close to, and check the loft where there is access. Ask whether you will get photos of your own roof, taken on the day, so that a recommendation to replace a section can be checked against the evidence.
The survey should answer a short list of questions:
- What has failed, and what is merely worn?
- Is a repair the sensible buy, or is the roof near the end of its life?
- What lies under the covering, including the timbers, the underlay and the battens?
- Which parts need lead or flashing work, such as valleys, chimneys and parapets?
- Do any council rules apply, such as a conservation area or a listed building?
Be wary of a survey that ends with only one answer, particularly one that is always a full replacement. A good surveyor will say when a repair is the better buy, and will say so on the written quote as well as on the roof.
If you are in a conservation area or have a listed house, ask the surveyor to say so in writing. The consent route is part of the survey, and it can alter what material may go back. Our guide to building regulations for roof work covers the other half of the paperwork.
MyJobQuote puts a typical UK roof survey at around £300 in October 2026. Whether a survey is charged separately or sits inside the quote is something to settle with each firm.
The scaffold and Kent County Council's licence
Scaffold that stands on a pavement or over a road needs a licence under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. In every district we work in, from Thanet across to Ashford, that licence comes from Kent County Council, and the district councils do not issue one. Kent County Council's own wording is that the scaffolding firm makes the application for the customer.
So the question to put to every roofer is simple: who lodges it, and when? What Kent County Council sets for a scaffold licence:
- Notice: applications should be in at least 5 working days before the licence starts to run.
- Fee: Kent County Council's rate is £52 per week for 2026 to 2027 for a scaffold standing on the road or pavement.
- Public liability cover: £5 million or above, held before the applicant can register.
- Inspection: £78 if the council deems a site inspection necessary.
Skips are covered by a separate permit. Kent County Council charges £45 per week for 2026 to 2027, asks for 5 working days' notice, and allows a skip no longer than 5 metres or wider than 2 metres.
A roofer who talks about the scaffold as something that simply appears on the day is not allowing for those 5 working days. On a street where the front wall meets the pavement, the lead time is part of the programme, and you should see it in the dates on the quote.
Questions before the application goes in can go to Kent County Council's highways line on 03000 41 81 81.
Waste, skips and what leaves your drive
Old slates, battens and underlay have to go somewhere, and the quote should say where and who is doing the carrying. A roofer's waste from your job is trade waste, so it moves with a firm that is registered to carry it, not in a car boot and not to the household recycling centre. Ask the roofer to tell you in writing who takes the waste away, and whether a skip or a grab lorry is planned.
The waste question gets sharper if the property could contain asbestos. The HSE advises assuming asbestos is present where the property dates from before 2000 or was refurbished before then. Asbestos cement roof sheets are always fragile, and these rules apply to the rubbish:
- The waste is double-wrapped and labelled.
- It goes into a lockable skip and never an open one.
- A carrier registered at the upper tier takes it away, on a consignment note.
Kent County Council's recycling centres accept asbestos from household sources at every site but Sheerness, and only small amounts: no more than 5 sacks a month free, double-wrapped, by booking. That route is for the householder's own handful of sheets, never for a roofer's bulk waste.
If something that looks like asbestos is on your roof or soffits, ask how it will be identified and who will handle it before any strip starts. Work on insulating board in soffits can be licensable, and that goes to a specialist firm.
Finally, ask what tidying looks like. A swept drive, gutters cleared of what the job dropped into them and a skip collected promptly are fair things to expect to read in the quote.
Building control, planning and your paperwork
Some roof jobs need Building Regulations approval, and a few need planning consent as well. Ask the roofer which route applies to your address and who handles it. Thanet runs its own building control team. Dover, Folkestone & Hythe and Ashford do the same. Canterbury and Swale applicants deal with STG Building Control. The roofer should know which office to ring.
Dover District Council goes further than the national guidance. It asks for approval on re-covering a roof even when nothing about the material changes. That is a Dover District rule only, so the question is worth asking at any Dover District address, Deal and Sandwich among them, and it is not one that applies in Thanet.
Planning is a separate matter. Re-roofing a house is normally permitted development, flats have no permitted development rights, and listed buildings need listed building consent for works that affect their character.
Before you sign, ask the roofer to confirm:
- which council or registered building control approver will be involved
- whether any planning or listed building consent is needed
- what certificate or sign-off you will receive when the work ends
- who sends the notice if the work touches a party wall
Keep every completion document with the deeds. A buyer's solicitor may ask for it years later, when the roofer who did the job is hard to trace, and a house sale is a poor moment to be chasing paper.
Contracts, cancelling and what to do if it goes wrong
The Consumer Contracts Regulations treat a contract made at your house as one made away from the trader's business premises, and that includes signing after a surveyor has visited. You then have 14 days to cancel without giving a reason, starting the day after you sign. If the roofer never told you about that right, the period can stretch by up to 12 months. Work should not begin inside the 14 days unless you ask for it in writing.
There is one exception. If you specifically asked a roofer to come out for an urgent repair, the right to cancel does not apply, and Citizens Advice describes this as inviting the business in for urgent repairs or maintenance. An emergency make-safe after a storm falls on that side of the line, so read what you sign.
Under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a trader has to use reasonable care and skill. If the work falls short, you have remedies, and a roofer who answers a complaint calmly and in writing is one worth keeping. Citizens Advice runs a consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 if a dispute is not resolved.
A deposit is a matter for the written contract. Agree it, and any stage payments, on paper before you hand over money. Our answer on what the rules say about roofer licensing explains why none of this depends on a certificate from a trade body.
