How often should a roof be inspected?

No regulation tells a homeowner how often to inspect a roof, so the useful answer is a habit rather than a rule. We suggest three layers. The first is a slow walk round the outside, binoculars in hand if you have them, in spring and again in autumn. Spring shows what winter did, and autumn shows whether the roof is ready for it. The second is a glance into the loft after a spell of heavy rain. The third is a proper inspection by someone who goes up and examines the tiles or slates, the lead, the ridge line, the edges at the gables and the guttering at close range.

For that third layer, every few years suits a roof in sound condition. A fascia and soffit guide on MyBuilder, updated in August 2026, says the roofline should be inspected every five years, which gives a feel for the sort of gap that is reasonable for the parts you rarely see. A roof that is already patched, or that is shaded by trees and slow to dry, deserves a shorter gap than a clean, open one.

Age is the first factor. A roof in its first decade should need little more than the seasonal glance, because most early faults come from poor workmanship and show up quickly. A roof in its later decades is a different matter. Nail fixings on slate corrode, concrete tiles lose their surface, and lead dressed round chimneys fatigues, so the gap between inspections should shrink as the covering ages.

The covering matters too. Natural slate and clay tile are long-lived, but a single slipped slate can admit water across several winters with nobody the wiser. Flat roofs in felt, EPDM or GRP have fewer parts but fail suddenly at joints and upstands, so they repay a look each year. Roofs under trees collect leaves, moss and debris in valleys and gutters, which is why overhanging branches shorten the sensible interval.

Then there is how the building is used. A rented house, an empty one or a block with shared roof space is easy to forget about, and forgotten roofs fail quietly.

Severe weather is the best reason to look outside the normal rhythm. After a night of strong wind, walk round in daylight and check the lawn, the drive and the gutters for pieces of tile, slate, ridge or lead. Look at the roof line against the sky for gaps, tilted tiles or a sagging ridge. Look inside the loft for chinks of light where the roof should be dark, and for fresh drips on the felt or timbers. A torch held at an angle across the underside shows damp patches that a quick glance misses.

If something is wrong, take dated photographs from the ground and stay off the roof and the ladder. Ring us and we will stop the water getting in first, because storm damage and active leaks come ahead of routine work, and the lasting repair is priced in a written quote afterwards. If you are thinking of an insurance claim, the Financial Ombudsman says the question is often whether the damage looks like storm damage or like an existing problem the storm exposed, so dated pictures taken before and after the weather help you explain what changed.

Some signs should bring the next inspection forward whatever the calendar says. A brown ring on a ceiling, wallpaper lifting near an external wall, or a damp smell in the loft all point to water getting in. Outside, watch for tiles that have dropped or split, a ridge line with visible breaks, moss heavy enough to keep the surface wet for days, and gutters that overflow in ordinary rain. A gutter that drips down the wall for years can soak the brickwork and the timber behind it without any sign inside the house.

Work done by other trades counts as well. A satellite dish fitted, a new chimney pot, solar panels, a new boiler flue or scaffolding standing against the slope can all disturb a covering. A roofer looking at the roof soon afterwards will catch a cracked tile before it becomes a stain.

Buying or selling is the other trigger. Our page on checking the roof after moving in covers that moment, and for typical prices see what a roof survey costs.

A good inspection covers the whole roof, not only the corner that worries you, because faults often sit well away from the stain. We check the covering for slips, cracks and perished mortar, the ridge and hips for fixings, the verges and abutments for gaps, the flashings and valleys for lead or lining faults, and the gutters and fascias for blockage and movement. Where the loft is accessible we look from the inside as well, because the underside shows things the outside hides, such as damp timber, torn felt and daylight at the tile line. Afterwards you receive an account of what we found, ranked by urgency, so you know what can wait until next year and what cannot.

MyBuilder's roof inspection guide, updated in August 2026, gives a typical national range of £150 to £500 depending on the method, with standard inspections at the lower end and drone or thermal work higher. That is a third-party guide, not a quote for your roof. After a survey of ours, the pictures and the written quote reach you together, which lets you judge each fault for yourself. For the full picture of the service, start at roof inspections and surveys, or ask how long a visit takes on our page about roof inspection time.