A roof condition report is a written record of what a roof looks like on the day someone inspected it. Done properly it names each fault, shows where it is, says how urgent it is and what would put it right. Done badly it is two paragraphs of general remarks and a stock photograph. The difference matters, because people use these reports to make expensive decisions: whether to buy a house, whether to patch or replace, whether an insurer should pay. This page explains what a sound report holds, how to read one without a trade background, and how to spot a report that will not stand up when you need it to.
What a condition report is for
Most reports are commissioned for one of a handful of reasons. A buyer wants to know what they are taking on. A seller wants to head off a surprise at survey stage and to show that the roof has been looked after. A landlord or managing agent needs a record to plan maintenance across a building or a set of properties. A homeowner who has noticed a stain or a slipped tile wants to know whether it is a one-off. An insurer or loss adjuster may ask for a report to decide a claim, which is a different use that we cover on our page about roof reports for insurance claims.
In every case the report fills the same gap. A surveyor's general opinion tells you the roof is probably fine or possibly not. A condition report from someone who has been on the roof tells you what each part looks like and what the next step is. It is the working document that a quote is built on, and the difference from a quote is worth stating: a report describes the roof, while a quote prices the work. We provide the two together, which is why our free survey ends in photos and a fixed written price, with no obligation to go ahead.
What should be in it
A useful report has a recognisable structure. Start with the basics: the address, the date, the weather, who inspected and how (from a ladder, on the roof, from the loft, with a drone). Then the description of the roof: its shape, its covering, the age if known, any flat sections and what lies beneath.
Next come the findings, which should be organised by part of the roof rather than in a single lump. A clear report goes through the main slopes, the ridge and hips, the verges (the gable edges where the roof stops), the valleys, the abutments and flashings, the chimney, the rainwater goods, the fascias and soffits, and the loft. Each finding says what is wrong in plain terms, for example "three concrete interlocking tiles cracked on the rear slope, left of the chimney" rather than "tile damage". Each is tied to a photograph with a caption that shows where it was taken.
The better reports then grade the findings. A typical scheme sorts them into urgent, soon and monitor, or into priority one, two and three. Urgent means water is getting in or something could fall. Soon means a defect that will worsen if left through another winter. Monitor means normal ageing that should be checked next time. Finally, a sound report gives a view on remaining life and a recommendation: repair the faults listed, re-cover a section, or plan for replacement. Our answer on what a roof report should include sets out the full list.
Reading the grades without being a roofer
Treat the grades as a to-do list sorted by urgency. Begin with the urgent items, since they are where the damage happens. Ask whether any have already caused harm indoors, such as damp patches on a ceiling or wet insulation, and whether a temporary fix is needed before the permanent one. A roofer will often make a leaking area safe immediately and plan the lasting repair for a dry day.
Move on to the soon items and ask what they depend on. A cracked ridge tile can wait a few weeks, but the same tile in November before a run of gales is a different matter. Items such as worn flashing, failing pointing at the verge or a blocked valley gutter tend to cost more the longer they run, because water follows the path of least resistance into the timbers.
The monitor items are the ones people skip, and they are useful for planning. A moss-covered north slope, tiles with surface erosion or felt that is brittle at the edges are not emergencies, but they set the clock on the roof's life. Put them in the diary: a repeat check in a year gives you a trend, and a trend is what lets you decide between repairing now and replacing in three or four years. Our guide on how old your roof is helps you put an age on what you see.
What a report cannot do
A condition report records what could be seen. It cannot see through the covering to the battens unless tiles were lifted. It cannot detect a slow leak that only appears in particular wind directions. It cannot predict a storm. And on a day in poor light or heavy rain, some of what is wrong will not be visible. A report should be honest about these limits, and it should say which parts were not accessible. If the author writes "no defects" about areas that were obviously out of reach, treat the whole document with caution.
Thermal imaging and drone footage can extend what a report shows, particularly on large or inaccessible roofs, and our guides to drone roof surveys and thermal imaging roof surveys explain where each helps and where it falls short. Neither replaces a close look at a junction with a hand and a screwdriver.
Condition reports for different people
Buyers. Ask for the report before exchange, and ask the roofer to cover the loft as well as the outside. Pass the findings and the fixed price to your solicitor. Our page on what to do when a homebuyer survey flags the roof goes through the options.
Sellers. A dated report with photos, plus invoices for any repairs, answers a buyer's surveyor before they ask. If the roof has a fault, it is often cheaper to repair it and show the report than to be knocked down in price. We cover the idea in having a roof survey before selling.
Landlords and managing agents. A report on each block or property gives a maintenance plan, a record of the duty of care and a way to compare years. We deal with that need on our page for roof inspections for landlords.
Homeowners with a concern. A report separates one-off faults from a pattern. If three tiles slipped in last month's wind, that may be an isolated event. If the same area keeps failing, the cause may lie in the batten spacing, the fixings or the underlay.
What one good entry looks like
It helps to see what a single line of a report should contain, so here is the pattern we follow rather than a real case. Location: rear slope, two courses below the ridge, directly above the bathroom. Finding: bedding mortar to three ridge tiles has cracked and dropped out, and one tile moves under hand pressure. Cause: age of the mortar and no mechanical fixing. Risk: wind can lift the tile, and rain can run under the ridge into the loft. Priority: soon. Recommendation: remove the three tiles, re-bed and fix them mechanically, and check the adjoining run. Photo reference: image 14, wide shot, and image 15, close-up of the gap.
Notice what that entry does. It names the part, ties the problem to a place you can find on a ladder, explains why it matters and says what to do. You can hand it to any roofer and get a price. You can also see at once whether the work is a small repair or a sign of something bigger, because the report links the symptom to its cause. Entries that stop at "ridge needs attention" give you nothing to price and nothing to challenge.
Larger and commercial roofs
On a school, a unit or a block of flats the same principles apply at greater scale. The report is usually split by roof area, each with its own covering, and flat roofs, rooflights, gutters, walkways and fall-arrest points all appear. Photos matter more still, because the person reading may never see the roof. Where access is difficult, a drone helps with the overview, and a close inspection on foot handles the details. A managing agent will often want the findings sorted into a budget by year, which turns the report into a planned maintenance schedule instead of a reaction to the next leak.
Signs of a weak report
Some reports look official and say little. Watch for generalised language ("the roof is in fair condition") with no locations, photos taken from the ground that could be of any roof, no mention of the loft, no grading, and a recommendation that is always the same: a full replacement. Be equally wary of a report that finds nothing wrong on a roof of any age; no covering is perfect, and a report with no observations at all probably had few. A strong report is specific, includes both good and bad news, and is happy to say when a roof has years left in it.
Be careful also about who benefits from the verdict. A report written to win a job can lean towards bigger work. We try to avoid that by repairing wherever repair works and saying plainly when it does not, and by giving you the photos so you can judge the evidence yourself or show it to a second roofer.
What to do with the report
Keep it. File it with the house papers and add a dated copy of every repair invoice. A pattern of records over several years is worth real money when you sell, and it helps any insurer to see that the roof was maintained. Share it with whoever needs it: a mortgage broker, a solicitor, a managing agent, a solar installer who wants to know the roof can carry panels. Then act on the urgent items first, put the soon items on a short list and diarise the rest.
If you would like us to produce a report on your own roof, book through our roof inspections in Basingstoke page, phone 01256 213956 or use WhatsApp. We go up, photograph what we find, grade it and, where work is needed, give a fixed written quote you can compare with any other.
