Question answered
RICS surveyor or roofer: who should survey the roof?
The short answer
Choose a RICS surveyor when you need an independent opinion on a whole property, usually for a purchase, a dispute or a valuation. Choose a roofer when you need the roof itself examined, the fault traced and the work priced. The jobs overlap only a little: a building surveyor will often recommend that a roofer looks closer, and a roofer cannot give you a valuation.
The two professions look at the same house for different reasons. One reports on the condition of the whole building; the other studies the roof closely enough to repair or replace it.
A building surveyor reports on the whole house
A chartered building surveyor, the kind who works under the RICS banner, is trained to look at an entire property: walls, floors, damp, drainage, services, the roof and the loft. The roof is one heading in a longer report, and the time spent on it is limited by everything else on the list.
Inspection is often done from the pavement, by a ladder at the gutter line, through the loft hatch, or with binoculars or a camera pole. That is normal and sensible for a survey that covers a whole building, but it means a roof slope may be assessed by what can be seen from a distance. Slipped tiles, rusting fixings and a sagging ridge line show up. A lifted lead flashing hidden behind a chimney may not.
What you get is independent advice. The surveyor has no repair work to sell, so the recommendation is not tied to a job, which is the point of commissioning one.
A roofer looks closely and prices the repair
A roofer who surveys a roof is answering a narrower question: where is the fault, why has it happened and what will stop it. The visit goes onto the roof, or as close as safe access allows, along the ridge, hips and verges, into each valley, around every chimney and abutment, and along the gutter line. It continues inside the roof space, where stained timbers and the back of the covering finish the picture.
The output is practical. You get pictures of the faults and a written quote that closes with one overall figure. The limit of the roofer's role is that they are not independent in the same sense, because the person recommending the work is often the person who will do it. That is why photographs matter so much. They let you check the finding for yourself, or show it to somebody else.
Our page on survey against quote explains how the findings and the price fit together.
When the building surveyor is the right call
The usual occasion is a purchase. A homebuyer or building survey before exchange gives you an independent view of the whole building, and the report often says the roof "should be inspected by a specialist". That sentence is the surveyor passing the question on. It does not tell you what is wrong or what it costs.
An independent report also helps where two parties disagree, for example between a landlord and tenant over who should pay, or in a dispute with a previous contractor. A person with no work to sell can be easier to put in front of a third party.
Valuation is another area where only the surveyor can help. The RICS consumer guide on spray foam insulation says foam in a roof space can bear on how a surveyor values the property. A roofer can describe the problem but cannot put a figure on the house.
When the roofer is the right call
If the roof leaks, a surveyor with a clipboard will not stop it. When the question is "where is the water getting in?", you need somebody who can climb to the roof, lift a tile, trace a stain back across the roof space and say what it takes to put it right.
The same goes for planned work. If you already know the covering is tired and want to choose between mending and renewing, a roofer's inspection feeds straight into a quote. Details such as how the ridge is fixed, whether the underlay has perished, or whether a valley liner has split are exactly what a roofer sees in the course of a normal visit.
There is also the practical point that a roofer's survey can be arranged quickly. You do not need a formal report, a booking window and a fee for an independent opinion simply to find out why the landing ceiling is stained. Our guide to preparing for the visit shows what helps on the day.
Using both without paying twice
The two do not compete. A sensible sequence for a house purchase is to read the building surveyor's report, note any roof-related recommendation, and ask a roofer to look at that item specifically. You then go into negotiation holding both an independent opinion and a priced repair.
If you are not buying, you do not necessarily need both. For an ordinary leak, a good roofer's survey with photographs is enough. If you want assurance that the diagnosis is sound, you can show the photographs to a second roofer, or ask a surveyor to review the findings.
One question to put to anyone, whatever their title, is what they were able to see. Ask whether they went into the loft, whether they got close to the flashings and valleys, and whether the photographs in the report are of your roof. The roof inspections and surveys overview sets out our own visits, the roof survey report page lists what a useful report contains, and the loft insulation check shows one thing a loft visit can tell you.
Choosing who surveys your roof
Will a mortgage lender accept a roofer's report instead of a building survey?
A lender sets its own requirements, and a roofer's report is not a substitute for the valuation or survey the lender asks for. It can still help alongside one. Ask your lender or solicitor what they need, and show them any roof findings you have commissioned.
Does an independent surveyor go on the roof?
Not always. The method depends on the type of survey, the access and what the report is meant to cover. Ask in advance how the roof will be inspected, and whether a closer look from a roofer is likely to be recommended.
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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