Two situations bring a roofer into a conversation about money rather than materials. One is damage: a storm strips sheets from a unit, a flat roof fails over a stock room, or a fire or impact leaves a hole. The other is the end of a lease, when a landlord's surveyor sends a schedule listing what the tenant is said to owe for the roof.
In both, the same thing matters: a clear, dated, photographed account of what the roof was like, what went wrong and what it will cost to put right. This guide explains how to build that record. It is general guidance about process, not legal advice; policy wording and lease terms decide who pays, so read yours or ask your broker or solicitor. Routine repair duties have their own answer, on who repairs the roof on a leased unit, and the wider service sits under commercial roofing.
The first hours after roof damage
The first aim is to stop the water and protect the contents. The second is to keep the evidence. Both can be done together if you plan them. On a multi-occupier site, tell the other occupiers and the managing agent at the same time, because a leak through one unit often reaches the next.
- Make the area safe. Keep people away from fragile or lifted sheets and from ceilings with water behind them. Move stock and equipment where you can.
- Photograph before anything is touched. Take wide shots of the roof and close shots of the damage, plus the inside of the building, with the date visible if possible.
- Tell your insurer or broker early. Policies often set time limits and conditions for notification, so read the notice terms rather than relying on memory.
- Arrange temporary protection. Sheeting, boarding or a tarpaulin fixed by someone competent is normally an expected step, because most policies expect you to limit further loss.
- Keep every receipt for emergency work and for moved stock.
Where water is coming in, we put the leak ahead of other work and secure the roof against more water first. Temporary protection is explained apart from the lasting repair, so that the emergency work and the permanent work can be told apart. Hold on to any removed material until the insurer or its adjuster has looked at it, since a failed fixing or torn sheet can tell them more than a photograph.
What not to do yet
Do not strip a damaged area back to a bare deck, or overlay it, before the insurer has seen it. The cause of the failure often shows in the old layers, and a new covering hides it. Our guide to overlaying a commercial roof covers when that option makes sense once the evidence is secure.
Storm, wear and the question of cause
Insurers usually look at why a roof failed, because many commercial policies treat sudden events such as storm, impact or fire differently from gradual deterioration. You should read your own wording, and your broker can explain the terms. From the roofing side, we can describe what we see and what in our judgement caused it. We do not decide cover.
What points to sudden damage
Lifted or missing sheets with clean fracture lines, a ridge pushed out of line, flashings peeled back in one direction, or debris from elsewhere found on the roof all suggest a single event. Fresh water staining directly beneath a visible tear fits the same story.
What points to long-term deterioration
Corroded fixings, rust running along sheet edges, blistered or split felt, perished sealant, blocked outlets with silt and plant growth, and multiple old patches suggest the roof was failing over time. Our guide to cut-edge corrosion explains one common gradual fault.
Mixed causes
Often both are present. A storm finishes a roof that was already tired, and the report then has to say which part of the damage the storm caused and which was already there. That is why dated photographs from earlier maintenance visits are valuable. Our page on planned roof maintenance describes the record a visit leaves behind. Without such a record, there is only the present state to go on, and an insurer may weigh that against you.
What a useful roof report contains
An insurer's loss adjuster, a landlord's agent or a buyer's surveyor will read a roof report without having seen the roof. It has to stand on its own. Ours is built around the survey photographs, and the sections always run in the same sequence.
| Section | What it records |
|---|---|
| Description | The roof type, covering, approximate area, access route and the date of the visit |
| Findings | Each defect, located on a labelled plan or photograph, with a plain description |
| Cause | Our view of what caused each defect, and where the evidence is uncertain, we say that |
| Options | Temporary protection, repair, overlay or replacement, each with its extent |
| Costs | A written quote covering the whole job, from access to disposal and finishing, with VAT shown |
What a survey and a repair cost
According to MyBuilder's 2026 inspection guide, a standard roof survey runs £150 to £250, a drone survey as £200 to £400 and a thermal survey as £300 to £500. On repairs, MyBuilder's roof repair guide reckons £500 to £1,500 on average for storm-damage fixes and £2,500 or more for a major repair. Those are national ranges, and your own figure is in the written quote we send after our visit. Our commercial roof cost guide compares them with replacement figures.
The report records what we found, not what a policy will pay. It can be sent to your insurer, adjuster, broker or landlord as it stands.
Dealing with the loss adjuster and agreeing the repair
When an insurer appoints a loss adjuster, the adjuster will usually want to see the damage, the report and the proposed repair before work goes ahead. Expect questions about the roof's age, its maintenance history and whether earlier leaks were reported. Answer from records where you can, and where you cannot, say so plainly. Guessing at dates or repair history tends to cause trouble later, whereas a gap that is openly acknowledged can be filled by an inspection.
Like for like
Repair settlements are typically framed around putting the roof back as it was. That fits our own approach, since we replace what is there with the same material. Trouble starts when the old system is no longer made, or when a modern regulation would require an upgrade. Our guide to Building Regulations and Part L covers when a renovation triggers extra insulation, and the policy wording decides whether any extra cost is covered.
Quotes and variations
A single total is hard to defend. A written quote lets the adjuster test the scope, and lets you see what happens if the extent changes once the old covering is lifted. If hidden damage appears, we photograph it, tell you before carrying on, and put the change in writing. Where more than one repair is possible, the quote shows each option and the difference between them.
Choosing between systems
If the whole roof is close to worn out, a claim may cover only the damaged part. Deciding what to do with the remainder is an owner's decision, and our guide to roof systems for commercial buildings compares the options.
End-of-lease dilapidations on a roof
Dilapidations are the sums a landlord claims from a departing tenant for breaches of the lease repair obligations. A landlord's surveyor serves a schedule, normally near or after the end of the term, listing each alleged breach and the cost of putting it right. A roof often features because it is expensive, and because the claim can be large relative to the rest of the schedule.
Repair is not renewal
Many leases require a tenant to repair, not to improve. A claim to replace an entire roof because a few seams have split can be argued against as an upgrade rather than a repair. On the other side, where a roof has been neglected and a repair would not hold, replacement can be justified. The wording of the lease and the condition at the start of the term decide where the line falls, and a solicitor or chartered surveyor should advise on that.
Evidence that helps either side
- A survey report at the start of the lease, or as early as you can get one, showing the roof's condition.
- Dated photographs from maintenance visits.
- Invoices for past repairs, including what was done and where.
- Landlord consent for any alterations, such as a rooflight or an overlay.
Inspecting before the schedule arrives
A tenant who has a roof surveyed ahead of the end of the term can fix minor items on their own terms and price any larger item before the landlord's number arrives. We can survey a leased unit roof and produce a repair cost, based on the same findings as the report described above, which your surveyor can use to respond to a schedule. Our page on commercial roof surveys explains what is recorded.
Keeping records so the next claim is easier
Most roofs go through a claim or a lease end sooner or later. The owners who come through with least friction keep a simple file. It does not need to be elaborate.
- A drawing or aerial photograph of the roof with areas marked.
- The last survey report and the date of the next planned visit.
- Records of gutter and outlet clearing, which show the roof was looked after.
- A note of any asbestos survey result; see our page on asbestos on commercial roofs.
- Copies of any Building Regulations approval, and the specification and data sheets for the latest covering.
Our work carries a written 10-year workmanship guarantee, and the guarantee document belongs in the same file. If we repair or recover your roof, our photographs of every layer, taken before it is closed up, join it. They show what lies underneath, which becomes useful years later when someone else has to assess the roof.
A short note on the next step
If you have damage now, send a few photographs with the address and we will fix a survey date with you. If a lease end is approaching, send the lease clause and any schedule you have received, and we will survey the roof against it and price the repair. Ring 01453 933613, use WhatsApp, or complete the form on the contact page.