Should I get a roof survey before selling?

Roofs can hold up a sale. The loft is awkward for a buyer to inspect, and a general survey often says only that a specialist ought to examine the roof. That single line can stall a purchase for weeks. If you already hold a roofer's report with photographs, the question has an answer before anyone asks it.

There is a second reason. A buyer who finds a problem tends to price it at the worst case. A report setting out what is wrong, how far it extends and what a repair involves gives both sides the same facts. You may still haggle, but you do it from a dated record, not from guesses, and a buyer who sees that the seller has done the homework is often less inclined to push for a large reduction.

The third reason is timing. A fault found now can be fixed on your schedule, in decent weather, with a quote that gives you the full cost up front. A fault found by the buyer's surveyor in the middle of an offer turns into a deadline.

When a buyer returns asking for a reduction, they usually want a figure. A report with a written quote supplies one. If the roof needs two ridge tiles re-bedded and some pointing, the cost is modest and you can fix it or offer a small allowance. If a whole slope needs relaying, you learn that early and can decide whether to repair before listing or to price the sale accordingly.

The report also guards against over-pricing in the other direction. A buyer's estimate for the same work might include scaffold on every elevation and a full re-roof where a repair would do. Having your own figures lets you show what the job really involves. Our guide to reading a roof condition report explains how to interpret findings so you can talk them through with an agent or solicitor.

We survey the roof the way a buyer's surveyor would want it examined, then in more detail. Outside, that means the covering, ridge and hips, verges, valleys, flashings and chimney stacks, plus the gutters and fascias that carry water away. In the roof space we check the battens, the rafters and the underlay, the membrane beneath the tiles, for damp, daylight, rot or signs of old leaks.

If you have a flat roof, a porch or an extension, those get their own attention, because they age differently from the main roof, and a tired flat section often decides how a buyer feels about the whole house. Our page on how a flat roof is inspected sets out what that involves. Your own roof is photographed for the report, so every finding can be seen as well as read. We also note the parts we could not reach and why, which stops an omission being mistaken for a clean bill of health.

MyBuilder's 2026 inspection guide lists a roof survey at £150 to £500 across the UK, with drone surveys at £200 to £400 and thermal at £300 to £500. These are third-party national figures, not ours. If we repair anything, the quote that follows is in writing.

Whether a report earns its fee depends on the roof. On a roof in good order it is mostly reassurance, and the useful part is the photographs. On a roof with real faults, it can spare you a price cut larger than the repair. A fair test: if you would hesitate to open the hatch in front of a buyer, commission the report.

Disclosure and paperwork

If work has been done to the roof, keep the paperwork and any guarantee. Ask your solicitor how known faults should be described on the sale forms, since we cannot advise on disclosure. A buyer's solicitor will often ask for any guarantees or invoices covering earlier roof work, and a neat folder of them, alongside the report, answers most of those questions in one go.

Small repairs are usually best done before viewings. Loose ridge tiles, crumbling pointing and clogged valleys cost relatively little to put right and remove obvious objections. Larger work, such as relaying a slope, is a different decision. Some sellers repair, others lower the asking price and let the buyer pick their own roofer. Both are reasonable. What matters is that the choice rests on a priced report rather than a surprise, and that you decide it before the estate agent does.

If damp has turned up, a roof damp survey traces where the water gets in. Where repairs follow, the new work matches the old, so a slate roof is repaired in slate and a stone roof in stone. Where we do the work, it comes with a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing, which you can hand to the buyer as part of the roof's history. The site is cleared of debris afterwards, so viewings are not spoiled by a builder's mess. Browse the rest of our roof inspections and surveys if you need a different check.

To book, call 01453 933613 or message us on WhatsApp with your address and the date you plan to list.