Timing a re-roof
What is the best (and cheapest) time of year to replace a roof?
The calendar matters less than the roof's condition and the lead times. Below: what decides the date, what the price follows, and the 2027 changes.
The short answer
Whenever the roof is ready for it, rather than in a particular month, because the price follows the size and condition of the roof, not the season. The dates that really move a job are the waits before work starts and two changes due in March and April 2027. Settle the survey, the written quote and the scaffold licence first, then choose a dry spell with your roofer.
4 min read · Part of Roof replacement
Lead times that set your start date
Several waits come before the first day on site, so they decide more than the weather does. Working back from the day you want the roof finished:
- A survey, followed by one written total price. Until you hold both, no date is real.
- A cooling-off window. Sign at home after the survey and you can cancel within 14 days; a crew can begin sooner than that only on a written request from you.
- A scaffold licence, if the poles go on the highway. Kent County Council wants applications, renewals included, in 5 working days ahead of the permit's start, so a late application pushes the scaffold, and the roof, back. We arrange the licence with our scaffolder.
- Building control where the job calls for it, and a party wall notice if it touches a party wall, for instance when a chimney breast is cut away; the neighbour is owed at least two months' notice.
Each wait is short by itself. Added together they explain why a roof agreed on Monday cannot begin on Tuesday, and why a start date offered before any of this is sorted is a guess.
Does the season change the price?
Which? Trusted Traders put replacing the whole roof of an average three-bedroom house at £7,000 to £21,000 excluding VAT (November 2025), likely to be at the upper end in the South East. MyJobQuote gives the average new roof as around £5,250 in the UK. Both are totals for the whole job with no month attached, so a winter or summer saving is not something either source supports.
Two things move a bill in any month: how many weeks the scaffold stays up, and what the roof turns out to need once it is open. The council fees show how that time is counted:
- Kent County Council: £52 per week for 2026 to 2027, for a permit that runs 7 calendar days.
- East Sussex Highways: £127 for 28 days, as its fee table shows; look the fee up again when you book.
The two are set over different periods, so read them separately. Scaffold sits inside the written quote, a single total that arrives after the survey. Ask whether it also states the VAT, because a total that leaves it out is not the total you will pay.
Two dates in spring 2027
Two published changes fall within a few days of each other. They matter only if your re-roof includes new insulation or reaches the energy rules, but they are worth knowing before you fix a date.
| Date | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 24 March 2027 | AD L 2026 takes effect in England for most building work, with Tables 3.2 and 3.3 in place of 4.2 and 4.3 | Approved Document L 2026 |
| 31 March 2027 | Last day of the period for installations of energy-saving materials in VAT Notice 708/6, which lists insulation of roofs or lofts | VAT Notice 708/6 |
| 1 April 2027 | Those supplies revert to the reduced rate of VAT of 5% | VAT Notice 708/6 |
The VAT notice speaks to the insulation in a job, not the tiles. Your quote should say what VAT it includes.
Until 24 March 2027, AD L 2021 applies: its Table 4.3 sets a 0.35 threshold and asks a renovated roof for 0.16 W/m²K where that is feasible. If a job straddles the date, ask building control which edition it will be judged by.
Booking around the weather
A re-roof is planned for dry weather, and the plan should cover the rest, because a forecast can turn between the survey and the first day. Put three questions to any roofer before you agree a date:
- How is the open roof covered each evening?
- Which slope is stripped first, and why that one?
- Who decides to stop work if rain is forecast, and what happens to the date then?
- Is the scaffold booked for the whole job, or only the first stage?
Our page on how long a roof replacement takes lists the steps that stretch a job.
A storm can bring the date forward. MyJobQuote gives emergency roofer call-out costs as typically ranging from £150 to £300, while extensive storm damage repairs can cost £1,200 or more. Planning ahead leaves time to compare written quotes side by side before you decide, and the new roof cost guide shows what the published figures cover. If insulation is part of the plan, read insulation when re-roofing. The rest of the job is on the roof replacement page.
More questions
Is it worth waiting for winter to get a lower quote?
Neither the Which? nor the MyJobQuote figure ties a re-roof price to the month, so waiting for a lower quote is a gamble with the roof. If a firm offers a discount for a quiet season, ask for it to be shown in the written total, with the scaffold and VAT position stated, before you sign.
How far ahead should I ask for a survey?
Start a few weeks before the date you want. A contract signed at home carries 14 days to cancel, a Kent scaffold licence application goes in 5 working days ahead, and a party wall notice runs at least two months. Ask the roofer to put the dates in writing so you can see which wait is longest.
Tell us what's wrong with the roof.
You'll get one written total price.