Question answered
Should you pay a roofer a deposit?
The short answer
Not by default. For repairs and short jobs, pay on completion, after you have looked at the finished work. A deposit is more reasonable on a larger job where the roofer must order materials, but it should be for a stated purpose, written down, and tied to a written quote. Never pay in cash against a verbal promise, and never pay up front to a stranger who called at your door.
A deposit can be reasonable on a large job, but only against a written quote and a clear reason. For a repair or a day's work, pay when the work is finished and you have checked it.
Why small repairs should be paid on completion
A repair uses little that has to be ordered in advance. A roofer fixing slipped tiles, re-bedding a ridge or replacing a section of lead carries the materials on the van. There is no purchase for you to fund, so there is nothing a deposit would pay for.
Paying at the end also keeps things simple. You see the finished work, you look at the photographs, and you settle once you are satisfied. The reverse order, money first and work later, leaves you in the weaker position if anything goes wrong.
Be wary when a deposit is requested in cash, or when the amount is a round sum with no stated reason. Ask what it covers. A firm with a real purchase to make will name it: tiles, slates, a roof window or a lead order. A firm that cannot say what the money is for is asking you to lend it money.
The same caution applies to anyone who calls unasked and wants payment before they climb the ladder; our answer on doorstep roofers covers that situation.
When a deposit makes sense on a bigger job
A full re-roof or a flat roof replacement is a different matter. Special-order slate, clay tiles, a roof window or a rolled lead order can take weeks to arrive, and a firm may reasonably ask you to fund part of that. The test is whether the request is specific, proportionate and written down.
Ask for the deposit to be described on the quote itself: the sum, what it buys and when the balance falls due. Pay by bank transfer or card so that a record exists, and keep a receipt naming the job and the address.
Some larger jobs are paid in stages instead: a payment when the materials are on site, another once the old covering is off and the timbers have been checked, and the balance at the end. That spreads the risk fairly in both directions. If the work is substantial, read who should do the job before you agree a payment plan, because building work around the roof may follow a schedule of its own.
If a shared wall or chimney is involved, the neighbour's notice period can delay the start, so see party wall notices for roof work before money changes hands.
Getting the terms in writing
A written quote is the document that protects you. It should state the work, the total price, whether VAT and scaffolding are included, the deposit if there is one, and the date the balance is due. Read it before you pay. If anything agreed in conversation is missing, ask for it to be added.
A payment you cannot tie to a sentence in a document is hard to recover. Keep the quote, the receipt and any messages about the start date together in one folder, on paper or on your phone.
Also ask what happens if the start moves. Weather delays roofing jobs often enough that you should know whether your money is held somewhere safe, and what becomes of it if the job does not go ahead at all.
Upkeep is a separate matter, though it affects how much you spend. Our roof maintenance checklist helps you catch small faults while they are still modest repairs, which keeps sums, and any advance payments, small.
Getting a deposit back when you cancel
If the contract was made at your home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days to cancel, and on cancellation the trader must reimburse all payments you have made. A deposit is a payment. It comes back, less a proportionate sum only where you asked for work to begin inside the 14 days and some of it has been done. The detail is in our answer on the 14-day cooling-off period.
Outside that right, the terms of the contract decide. This is another reason to write down what the deposit is for, and whether it can be returned if you cancel before any materials are ordered.
If a trader will not refund what is owed, keep every message and receipt and write setting out exactly what you are asking for and by when. A firm given a clear written request has less room to argue than one asked in passing on the phone.
You can see how we handle quotes and paperwork from the Watertight Worthing Roofing home page.
Roofing payments: two more questions
Is it normal for a roofer to ask for cash up front?
A roofer may ask for money up front for materials on a larger job, but cash with no receipt is a poor way to do it. Offer a bank transfer or card payment and ask for a receipt naming the work and the address. If that is refused, treat it as a reason to look elsewhere.
What is a fair way to split payment on a full re-roof?
A common pattern is a payment when materials are ordered or delivered, a second once the old covering is off and the structure has been checked, and the rest when the job is finished and you have inspected it. Whatever split you choose, write it on the quote.
Tell us about your roof
Describe what is happening and we will call you back to arrange a visit.
- Photographs of what we find
- A written quote with one total price
- Or call 01903 299063
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