Roofers and surveyors, in general terms
Two kinds of person routinely survey roofs, and they approach it differently.
A roofer works on roofs for a living. They know how coverings are fixed, where flashings fail and what a repair involves, and they can usually tell you not only what is wrong but what it would take to put right. The survey leads naturally to a repair price. The point to watch is that the person who finds the faults may also be the person paid to fix them, so ask to see the evidence in photographs.
A building surveyor is employed to examine and report, and nothing else. They are independent of any repair and write in a more formal style. Their fee is for the opinion alone, and MyJobQuote's October 2026 guide prices a survey at around £300 on average, a national typical figure, not a price of ours.
Which suits you depends on the question. If you want to know what is wrong and have it mended, a roofer's survey is a direct route. If a lender, solicitor or dispute needs a report from someone with no interest in the repair, a surveyor may be the better fit. See RICS survey or roof inspection for the comparison.
No roofing licence, so no licence claims
A licence is not the test to apply when you choose who looks at a roof. What counts is the visit and the paper it produces, and anyone who leans on a badge in place of evidence deserves a second question.
Asbestos is the exception that shows how licensing works. Certain asbestos work, such as work on asbestos insulating board that is not of short duration, is licensable, which means it goes to a licensed specialist firm, and anyone told a roofer can do it should ask what authority they hold.
Without a licence to check, ask for things you can check instead:
- The names of the people who will attend, and who will be on the roof.
- How they will reach the roof, and what they will use to see it.
- A sample report or a description of what yours will contain.
- Photos of your roof as part of the report, and not just a summary.
- Written quotes, ideally from at least three traders, which is what Citizens Advice recommends.
Reasoning from evidence beats reasoning from a badge, and a report with photographs is evidence you can show to anyone.
What to ask for in the report
A survey is only as good as the report that comes out of it. Before you agree to one, ask what it will include. A useful report has:
- The date, the address and who carried it out.
- How the roof was viewed: from the ground, a ladder, close access or the loft.
- A description of each slope and detail, with labelled photographs.
- A list of defects, ranked by what lets water in first.
- A record of anything that stayed out of view.
- A recommendation: leave, repair or replace, with a reason.
The method matters because it limits what the findings can claim. A report written from street level should say so, and should not describe flashings it could not reach. Roof timbers buried under spray foam are a case in point, since RICS notes they cannot be checked in full.
Also ask who will be working at height and how. Employers carry a legal duty under regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 to prevent falls where that is reasonably practicable, and a competent firm can describe its method in a sentence or two.
HSE's guidance, where a building dates from before 2000 or was refurbished before then, is to work on the basis that it holds asbestos, and the surveyor should treat that roof accordingly.
What happens after the survey
The report is the start of a decision, not the end of one. Read it, ask about anything unclear and then choose between repair, a larger job or leaving the roof alone for now.
If the report recommends repair, you can use it to get comparisons. Handing each trader the same report means their written quotes cover the same work and can be set side by side fairly.
If you chose a roofer for the survey, the same firm can price the repair. Keep the report apart from the price, so that findings and proposals stay distinct. A good roofer will explain why a repair is enough and will say plainly if the roof is beyond it. Whoever you choose, ask them to walk you through the photographs, point out the worst fault and say what happens if it is left another winter.
If you chose a surveyor, take the report to the roofers you are considering. Our own visit is described on roof inspections, and the roof survey report explains the written part. If you are weighing cost, is a roof inspection a quote sets out the difference.
