Roof advice for Llanelli homes
If a roofer falls off your roof, are you liable?
It is a question people type into a search box and rarely ask out loud. You have someone working at the top of your house. If they slip, is it on you?
In almost every ordinary case, no. This guide explains why in plain words, and what you can sensibly do. It is general information for homeowners, not legal advice. For a real dispute, speak to a solicitor or Citizens Advice.
Who is responsible for safety on the roof
The person doing the work is. A roofer is a professional who controls how the job is done, what kit is used and when it is too wet or windy to go up.
Building work in Great Britain, including Wales, comes under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which the Health and Safety Executive enforces. Those rules give duties to the client on a building job. But the HSE's guidance for domestic clients, meaning people having work done on their own home, says those client duties normally pass to the contractor. Where there is a single contractor, that contractor must take on the client's legal duties as well as their own.
So for a roof repair on your house, the law puts the planning of safe work on the roofer, not on you.
Where a homeowner could come into it
There are a few situations where a homeowner might share some blame. They are the exception.
- A hidden danger you knew about and kept quiet. For example, a fragile rooflight painted over, or sheeting on an outbuilding that will not take weight. Anyone you invite onto your property is owed reasonable care, and that includes a warning about dangers they could not be expected to spot.
- Your own equipment. If you lend a ladder or a tower and it is faulty, that could come back to you. Let the roofer use their own.
- Directing the work. If you tell a worker how to do the job, or press them to go up in weather they have said is unsafe, you start to take on responsibility for the result.
- Employing someone directly. If you take on a person as your own worker and not as an independent business, you may count as their employer, with an employer's duties. Hiring a roofing firm or a self-employed roofer for a job is not that.
Avoid those four and your position is strong.
Five sensible steps before work begins
- Check their insurance. A roofer should have public liability cover, and employers' liability cover if anyone works for them. Ask to see the certificates and check the dates.
- Point out what you know. Old cement sheets that may contain asbestos, a rooflight, a weak spot on a flat roof, overhead cables, a loose chimney pot. Say it before they climb.
- Ask how they will get up there. Roof ladders, a tower or scaffolding for anything more than a quick look. If the plan sounds reckless, find someone else.
- Keep the ground clear. Move the car, keep children and pets indoors, and warn the neighbours if slates could come down on their side.
- Tell your home insurer about major work. For a full re-roof with scaffolding, some policies want to know. A two-minute call settles it.
Why the roofer's safety is in your interest anyway
Leave the law aside for a moment. Nobody wants a person hurt at their house.
The way a roofer treats their own safety is also a fair guide to how they will treat your roof. Someone who sets up properly, with the right ladders and edge protection, is someone who does the rest of the job properly. Someone who walks about on wet slate in trainers is showing you how careful they are.
Safe access costs money, and it is a real part of any honest roofing quote. Checkatrade's roof repair guide puts a single scaffold up to 10 metres high at about £625 a week. If one quote includes scaffolding and another does not, ask the cheaper roofer how they plan to reach the work. Our guide to choosing a roofer in Llanelli has more questions to ask.
And if you go up yourself
Then the risk is all yours. Working at height is dangerous even for people who do it every day. Older slate breaks without warning, and a wet roof gives no grip.
Look from the ground, look from the loft, take photos and leave the roof to someone trained and equipped for it. If you want to know what is going on up there, our guide to checking a roof after a gale shows how much you can learn without a ladder.
Common questions
In the UK, is the homeowner responsible if a tradesman is injured?
Not normally. An independent tradesman is responsible for working safely, and for domestic jobs the HSE says the client's duties under the construction regulations normally pass to the contractor. A homeowner could share liability if they hid a known danger, supplied faulty equipment, directed the work or employed the person directly.
Does my home insurance cover a roofer working on my house?
It varies by policy. Many buildings policies include some liability cover for the owner, but the roofer's own public liability insurance is what should cover damage or injury caused by the work. Check that it is in force, and ring your insurer if you are having major work done.
What if the roofer has no insurance?
Then if something goes wrong there may be nobody to pay but the roofer personally, and claims become slow and uncertain. It is one of the simplest checks to make. A roofer with cover will show you the certificate without fuss.
Do not let the worry put you off the repair
Some people leave a roof fault alone because they are uneasy about having anyone up there. The fault does not go away. It gets bigger, and a bigger job means more time at height for somebody. A prompt repair by a roofer who works safely is the lowest risk for everyone.
Describe the problem and name your part of Llanelli. Ask about insurance and access when the roofer rings.