Before you list
Should you get the roof checked before selling?
The short answer
Usually, yes, if the roof is not new. A check before listing tells you what a buyer's surveyor is likely to find, while there is still time to repair it, price it or explain it. It also gives you photographs and a written quote to show a buyer. It is less useful on a roof that has recently been replaced and is documented.
A buyer's survey will look at the roof whether you do or not. Here is why looking first gives you the choices, and what to do with the answer.
Why finding out first helps you
A roof fault found by a buyer's surveyor arrives at the worst moment. It lands after you have agreed a price, it comes as a line in a report, and the buyer's reaction decides what happens next. A fault you found yourself arrives with a photograph, a verdict and a written figure for putting it right, and you are the one holding the facts.
That changes the conversation. You can repair it before listing and say so, leave it and price the sale accordingly, or offer the quote and let the buyer choose. All three are better than a surprise, and each gives you a say in the price rather than leaving it to the buyer. The check does not need to be elaborate; it needs to be written down and photographed. Our roof inspections and surveys page sets out what a survey here involves from start to finish. Book it early in the process, ideally before photographs are taken for the listing, so that anything you decide to fix is fixed in time for them.
What the check should look at
The usual weak points are the ones a surveyor looks for. Slipped or cracked tiles, ridge and hip tiles that have lost their fixing, crumbling mortar along the gable edges, and flashings, which are thin sheets of lead or another metal sealing the joints at chimneys and walls. Valleys and gutters come next, then the loft for stains, damp and ventilation.
For a flat roof, the covering, the edges and the outlets matter. A chimney stack gets its pointing and its flashings looked at, along with the cap of mortar around the pots. Our answer on whether an inspection includes gutters and chimneys explains how that is handled, and what a roof inspection report should include shows what should come back to you afterwards.
Repair, leave or disclose
Once you have the findings, the plain verdict decides what to do. A small repair is usually best done before listing, because it removes the question altogether. A larger job, such as a covering that has had its day, may be better left and mentioned, with the quote available, so the buyer can weigh it against the price. Whichever you choose, the dated photographs record the roof as it stood on the day, which protects you if the condition is questioned later.
What has to be declared to a buyer is a legal question, so ask your conveyancer before deciding to stay quiet about a known leak. What you can gather yourself is the photographs, the verdict and a written quote, which makes any answer easy to give. A buyer who sees a documented fault with a known cost is often easier to deal with than one who finds it late in the process.
Records a buyer may ask to see
Buyers and their solicitors tend to ask about the roof, because a bill for it can be large. Paperwork that answers them in advance speeds things along. Keep the survey photographs, the written quote, any invoice for repair work and any guarantee that came with it, all in one place.
Where work was done in the past, find out whether it needed Building Regulations approval. Under Planning Portal guidance, a building control application is usually unnecessary if less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof is affected; Arun District Council's own list of work needing approval, however, includes replacing roof coverings, so check with your building control body. Ask the same about a loft conversion or a solid conservatory roof, since both are the sort of work a buyer's solicitor will want evidence for, and a missing certificate is far easier to chase while you still live there.
Cost, and a cleaner roof as part of the plan
Checkatrade's price table, last updated September 2026, gives about £260 for a typical roof inspection and £300 to £500 for a fuller survey, plus VAT. That is a small figure beside a sale, and if your roof is covered in moss, a clean may also be worth considering. Our answer on cleaning a roof before selling explains the order to do things in.
Spray foam under the roof deserves a separate look, because in November 2024 lenders were divided over it, some declining such homes and others judging each on its merits. Check that scaffolding and VAT are covered by any repair figure you are given. The written price follows our survey and is one sum, which lets you see the number before you decide whether the work belongs before listing or after.
Related questions
Pre-sale questions
Do I have to repair a fault before I sell?
What you must declare is a question for your conveyancer. An unrepaired fault can reduce an offer or slow a sale, so a repair with a written invoice is often the simplest answer, and the invoice then goes into the folder for the buyer.
Is the check worth it on a roof that is only a few years old?
Often not, provided you have the paperwork from when it was fitted. Keep the invoice and any guarantee to hand. If there have been storms since, a quick look and a few photographs still help, and cost very little.