The short answer
Start by making your own property safe and photographing the damage and the loose tiles. Then talk to your neighbour calmly, because they may not know. Tell your own insurer, and ask your neighbour to inform theirs. Who ends up paying depends on the cause and the circumstances, so keep every photo, quote and receipt and avoid arguing about blame on the doorstep.
Make things safe and take photographs
When a slate or tile falls from a roofline, it lands somewhere you can see: a patio, a car bonnet, a lean-to, a flower bed, sometimes your own roof. Before anything else, clear people and pets from the area, and do not pick up sharp fragments barehanded. A cracked polycarbonate sheet or a broken skylight pane can drop more pieces without warning.
Photograph the scene as it stands, including the fallen pieces, the damage, and where it sits in relation to the neighbouring roof. Take wide shots and close-ups. If you can see from the ground that tiles are missing or slipped on the neighbouring roof, photograph that too, from your own land or the street, without leaning over a boundary. Note the date, the time and the weather, because wind or ice at the time may matter later.
Stopping further damage
Your first duty is to your own property. If tiles have broken your roof covering, rain can follow within hours, so a temporary cover over the gap is sensible. A tarp fixed by someone who knows how to secure one will hold for a while, and our page on how long a tarp can stay on a roof sets out its limits. Keep every receipt for materials and labour, because they form part of any later claim.
If the damage is to a car, a window or a garden structure, board it up or cover it as needed, and do not repair beyond what is necessary to stop it getting worse until the insurers have been told. Our page on temporary repairs and insurance explains why that order matters.
Talking to your neighbour
Many neighbours have no idea their roof is shedding tiles, and the person who finds out first is usually the one it landed on. Knock, explain what happened, show the photographs and stay level and stick to what happened. Nobody is being accused here; you are letting them know that something on their roof has come loose and that damage has followed. Many disputes ease the moment both sides see a photograph.
Ask whether they have buildings insurance and suggest they tell their insurer about the incident. Offer to share your photographs. If they are a tenant, the landlord or managing agent is the right contact, and if the property is a leasehold flat, the freeholder or management company may be responsible for the roof.
Afterwards, send a short email or letter recording what was said and when, so a dated trail exists. If a conversation goes badly, step back and leave the rest to the insurers.
Whose insurer, and who pays
Tell your own insurer, whatever the circumstances. They will say what your policy covers and whether they will pursue the neighbour's insurer for the cost. Cover can differ depending on whether the damage is to the building, contents, a vehicle or something outside such as a fence or conservatory, so describe everything that was hit.
Responsibility depends on why the tiles fell. A sudden gale may be viewed in one way and a roof that had visibly been left to decay in another. Insurers and the Financial Ombudsman Service weigh up whether the tiles came down because of the weather or would have come down in any case. Our pages on storm damage claims and hail damage to a roof cover how those questions are weighed. We cannot tell you who is liable or whether any claim will succeed.
Getting the damage repaired
Whatever the argument over cost, your roof and belongings still need attention, and waiting for agreement between insurers can leave water coming in for weeks. The insurers will want evidence of what was done and why. A written quote from a roofer, with photographs of the damage, is the document insurers usually want to see. Ask if each quote has VAT and scaffolding in it, since either can shift the total a long way.
For scale, MyBuilder's repair guide, updated in August 2026, bands minor repairs at £100 to £300 and storm fixes at £500 to £1,500. MyBuilder gives about £850 to £1,200 for erecting scaffold on an ordinary two-storey home. Those are typical UK figures, and your own total comes from a survey.
Where neighbouring roofs meet, such as terraced houses sharing a ridge or a party wall, repairs on one side sometimes involve lead or tiling on the other. Mention it when we survey and the junction gets a close look.
Keeping records and avoiding a repeat
File everything together: photographs, messages, names, dates, quotes, receipts and any reference numbers from the insurers. If the neighbour's roof is still shedding tiles, ask that it be inspected soon, because more are likely to follow, and the next one might hit a person. A roofer can inspect a roof only with the owner's agreement.
When we survey your roof, the damage is photographed and the repair goes into a written quote showing one price. The job we suggest is no bigger than the damage demands, and a 10-year guarantee on the workmanship is given in writing. For a visit, ring 01793 626096, write on WhatsApp or complete the contact form. Our emergency roof repairs hub gives the wider picture.
If the neighbour disputes what happened, your photographs and dated notes carry far more weight than memory. A wide shot that places a fallen tile beside the gap it came from is often the single most useful image.