Landlord roofs

How often should landlords have a roof inspected?

Once a year is a sound rhythm, plus a look after severe weather. Below: why no rule sets the gap, what to record, and how shared roofs change things.

The short answer

Once a year is a sensible rhythm for a let property, with an extra look after severe weather and before a new tenancy starts. We know of no rule we can cite that fixes an interval for a landlord's roof, so the timing is a judgement about risk. A roof you have not seen for several years is the one to book first.

5 min read · Part of Roof inspections

A hipped red-tile roof on a white-rendered bungalow — A terraced roof seen from a neighbouring ladder

Why no fixed interval exists

Nothing in the sources we work from sets a number of years between roof inspections for rented homes. Building Regulations deal with work being done to a roof, not with how often an owner must look at one. Other duties may reach a landlord through the tenancy agreement, a lease or a mortgage, and those depend on your own paperwork, so check them with your agent or adviser. If a managing agent looks after the property for you, agree who books the inspection and who receives the report.

What can be said is practical. A roof is out of sight, and a tenant may not notice a slow leak until a ceiling has stained. An annual check finds small faults while they are still repairs. Leaving it longer raises the chance that the next visit finds a covering that can no longer be saved, and the cost of putting that right is large and unplanned. A repair that has become a re-roof is a far larger bill for whoever the tenancy or lease makes responsible for the roof.

For a block or a converted house, the same rhythm applies to the roof as a whole, not flat by flat. Our roof inspections page explains what a visit looks at, and how the findings are reported.

A routine that suits let property

Pick fixed moments so the check does not depend on a complaint. A routine that works well for a rented house runs like this:

a full inspection once a year, from the ladder and the loft, with photographs
a look after a storm with violent winds, or after any report of a stain, drip or loose tile
a check between tenancies, when the loft and ceilings are easiest to reach
a fresh inspection before you refinance, sell or take out new cover

Gutters and downpipes sit outside the covering but can do as much harm as a slipped tile when they overflow onto a wall, so they belong in the same visit, along with any flat roof over an extension or a garage that the tenants use. Ask the inspector to note the state of fascias and soffits too, and to flag any old board that should be identified before anyone drills or cuts it. A tenant who reports a drip in the same week gives you a cheaper repair than one who reports it a season later, so tell tenants who to ring and what counts as worth a call.

Access, tenants and records

Roof work goes more smoothly when the tenant knows what to expect. Give notice of the visit, say which rooms matter, and agree a time for the loft hatch to be reached, especially where the hatch sits inside a flat's hallway or a bedroom cupboard. A tenant who feels consulted is more likely to mention a stain early, and a short note through the door before each visit takes a minute to write.

Ask for photographs with each report, labelled by slope, and keep them in one folder per property. Dated images of a roof in sound condition, taken at each yearly visit, are useful if a dispute or a claim ever arises, because they show the condition before the event, and what has changed since.

Keep three things together in one place: the findings, the photographs and any receipt for work done, however small the job was. A written record also helps a future buyer, and it settles later arguments over whether damage was new or old. For the cost side of an inspection, see our roof inspection cost guide.

Flats, terraces and shared roofs

Where several homes sit under one roof, an inspection of your own flat is only half the picture. A fault above the neighbouring flat can drip into yours, and a repair may need agreement between owners or with the freeholder. How the cost is shared depends on the lease or deeds, which we cannot read for you.

Flats have no permitted development rights, so check the planning position with the council before any change to the roof's outline, and ask building control about the work itself. Work to a shared chimney breast or party wall can bring neighbour notice rules into play, which the loft answer below explains.

We write up a shared roof as a whole, so every owner sees the same findings and photographs and nobody argues over whose slope a fault sits on. Where the roof has a hidden valley between two homes, that shared record is worth having. Our answer on roof condition reports shows what such a report contains, and our loft checks answer covers the party wall notice.