Will a mortgage lender ask for a roof report?

When you apply, the lender sends a valuer. Their job is to confirm the property is worth what you are paying and is acceptable security for the loan. RICS is clear that a lender's valuation report is not a survey: it tells the lender whether the property is reasonable security for the loan, not what condition it is in. The valuer looks at the roof briefly, often from the street. If they see something that concerns them, such as slipped tiles, a sagging ridge, a patched covering or an unusual type of roof, they can record it.

The lender then decides what to do. It may go ahead without conditions, ask for further evidence, lend less, or hold back part of the loan, known as a retention, until the work is done. The detail is the lender's own policy, so begin by asking the lender or your broker what the valuer wrote and what evidence they want.

Leasehold flats and houses with shared roofs add another layer, because the roof may belong to a freeholder or management company. A report on your own part of the structure helps, but the lender will want to know who is responsible for the rest.

A retention is money the lender holds back at completion and releases once the stated work has been carried out and evidenced. If the valuer flags the roof, the lender may name the work required and ask for a quote or a report from a roofer before releasing funds. You carry the cost of the repair in the meantime, which is why knowing the figure early matters.

This is where a roofer's written report earns its keep. It records the actual condition, lists what is needed, and separates urgent items from ordinary wear. Pictures taken during the survey show the lender what the valuer could only guess at. Our guide to next steps after a homebuyer survey flags the roof covers the buyer's side of the same process.

Lenders differ on how long a retention may stay in place and what evidence releases it, so ask for the terms before you commit. If the sum held back is large, a roofer's priced scope can sometimes show that the work costs less than feared, which may help the conversation with the lender.

Foam sprayed under the roof slopes is where lenders have grown most careful. RICS issued consumer guidance on spray foam insulation in March 2023. It says a badly done installation can cause dampness, including uncontrolled condensation, and it advises owners to put the question to their lender before anything is installed.

Reporting by Today's Conveyancer, drawing on a BBC investigation, found that as of November 2024 some lenders were declining homes with spray foam, while others considered each case on its merits. Policies move, so confirm the current position with yours. A roofer cannot change a lender's rules, but a report on what the foam covers and what the timbers look like gives you facts to put in front of them. Where foam hides the rafters, we look at everything visible from the loft, as described in what a roofer looks for in your loft.

The report should make sense to someone who has never seen the house. That means the address and date, the covering and its approximate age, the condition of each slope, the state of flashings, gutters and ridge, and the condition of the loft timbers. It should say what is urgent, what is advisory and what is simply wear.

Images matter as much as the words. A dated shot of a slipped slate or a damp batten is evidence in a way that a sentence is not. If work is needed, the quote should cover scaffold, materials, labour and waste, so the lender can see what the retention has to cover. Ours is built that way, and national price ranges for common jobs are published on our pages before you contact us.

If you are buying, ask the vendor about recent roof work and for any paperwork. If the roof looks tired, a roofer's report before you apply gives you the facts first and can stop a retention catching you off guard. If you are selling, a report can reassure a buyer and a lender in one document.

MyBuilder's 2026 guide puts a roof survey at £150 to £500, which is small against the amount a retention could tie up. Repairs we complete are backed by a written 10-year workmanship guarantee, which you can pass to a lender with the report. Our answer on inspection photographs explains what you receive.

Sometimes the condition is that the roof must be repaired before completion. Get the lender's wording in writing and ask exactly what evidence closes the condition: an invoice, a certificate, a surveyor's re-inspection or a roofer's letter. Then give the roofer that wording, so the quote and the paperwork match it.

Where work changes the roof significantly, a building control notification may apply, and we explain consent and handle the Building Regulations notification where work is notifiable. Plan in time for scaffold and weather, since a retention deadline does not move for rain. The main roof inspections and surveys page lists the options.