How to Choose a Roofer in Peterborough: Checks, Warning Signs and Who Is Liable

First, an honest word about us. Roofing Peterborough is a matching service. When you send an enquiry, we pass it to an independent local roofing firm, and that firm quotes you directly. We do not inspect or approve the firm, and we would rather tell you that than imply otherwise. That is the reason this guide exists. Every check below is one you can make for yourself, most of them online, before anyone puts a ladder against your wall.

Seven Checks Before You Hire a Roofer

1. Start with the Buy With Confidence Register

Peterborough City Council's Trading Standards team points residents to Buy With Confidence, an approved-trader scheme. The council describes it this way: "It gives residents access to businesses and traders that Trading Standards have checked and approved." The register is free to search at buywithconfidence.gov.uk.

The council is also clear about what the scheme does not do: "The scheme doesn't provide a price guarantee." Its advice is to get more than one quote so you can tell whether a price is reasonable. A roofer who is not on the register is not automatically a poor one, because plenty of small firms never apply. But a listing tells you something you cannot easily find out any other way.

2. Look Up TrustMark and the NFRC Competent Person Scheme

TrustMark calls itself "the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme that covers work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home". Its website has a Find a tradesperson search, so you can see whether a firm is registered rather than taking a logo on a van at face value.

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors runs its own scheme. It used to be called CompetentRoofer, and in 2022 the federation brought it in-house and renamed it the NFRC Competent Person Scheme. Registered firms can self-certify that a re-roof, where half or more of the roof covering is replaced, meets the Building Regulations, and the scheme then notifies building control. It has a searchable directory of registered contractors. Membership can lapse, so check it in the same week you hire.

3. Ask to See the Insurance Certificates

Public liability insurance covers injury to other people and damage to your property while the work is going on. If the firm employs anyone, ask for the employers' liability certificate as well. Look at the name on each certificate, the start and end dates and the amount of cover. A certificate in someone else's name, or one that ran out last spring, is not the same as a firm being insured today. The liability section further down explains why these two documents matter so much.

4. Get a Written, Itemised Quote

A price given on the doorstep is not a quote. A proper one says what access is included and whether scaffolding is needed, which tiles or slates will be used, what happens if the battens or timbers turn out to be rotten and how that extra work would be charged, whether VAT and waste removal are included, and what guarantee comes with the job. On a 1970s estate roof it should say how the ridges and verges will be finished. On an older stone house in one of the villages, it should name the material, because matching a Collyweston stone slate roof is a different job from re-tiling in concrete. Our guides to roof repair costs, what a new roof costs and flat roof replacement cost show typical ranges, so you can judge whether a number is in the right place.

5. Know Your Cancellation Rights

If you agree a contract for roofing work at home, rather than at the firm's premises, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a cancellation period. For a service, it ends 14 days after the day the contract is made, and the firm should tell you about it. The firm must not start work inside that period unless you have expressly asked it to, and for a contract made at home that request has to be on a durable medium, such as a letter or an email. If you asked for an early start and then cancel, you may have to pay for the work done up to the point you told the firm.

There is one exception worth knowing when a leak is the reason you called. Where you specifically asked a firm to visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance, the regulations exclude that contract from these cancellation rights. That makes the other checks on this page more important, not less, in an emergency.

6. Agree Sensible Payment Terms

A deposit towards materials is normal, particularly if tiles, slate or lead have to be ordered in. Paying the whole price before any work starts is not normal, and a firm that will only take cash is a warning sign in itself. Stage payments linked to finished parts of the job keep both sides fair.

How you pay can help too. Citizens Advice explains that if you pay any part of the cost on a credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the card provider share responsibility with the firm, as long as the total price is more than one hundred pounds and no more than thirty thousand pounds. If you pay by debit card, you can ask your bank for a chargeback instead, though your bank may not agree, so contact it promptly if something goes wrong.

7. Ask for References and Recent Local Work

Ask for two or three recent jobs of a similar kind nearby, and if you can, walk past and look. A new roof on an estate semi in Bretton or Orton, or careful repair work on a stone cottage, tells you more than a gallery of photos online. Check that the firm has a fixed business address, and if it is a limited company, look it up on Companies House. None of this proves good work on its own. When all of it is missing, though, that is how doorstep traders tend to operate.

Warning Signs of a Doorstep Trader

Roofing attracts rogue traders because most homeowners cannot see the work, and the same pattern turns up again and again.

• Cold calling. A knock at the door from someone you did not contact, often "we were in the area".
• "We noticed a problem with your roof." A stranger who spotted a loose tile from the street and can fix it this afternoon.
• Pressure to decide today. A discount that disappears once they leave, or a claim that the roof will fail in the next rain.
• Cash only. Especially a large sum before any work starts.
• No address. A mobile number, no landline, no business address and no paperwork you can hold on to.
• A price that grows on the roof. "All the lead has gone" or "the whole ridge needs doing" should be written down and, if it adds a lot, checked by someone else first.

One of these is a reason to slow down. Two or more together is a reason to close the door.

How Can You Tell a Good Roofer?

The good signs mirror the bad ones. A good roofer is happy for you to take your time and check them. They explain what is wrong in plain terms, often with photographs taken from the roof, and they tell you whether a repair will do or whether the roof is past it. They put everything in writing, say clearly what is not included, and give you names of past customers without being pushed.

A good roofer also asks about your house. How old is it, what work has been done before, and is it listed or in a conservation area? That last question matters in and around Peterborough. Peterborough City Council has 29 conservation areas, and it says it has 56 Article 4 directions covering 334 homes, which may affect roof work. The council says the works an Article 4 direction can restrict include "re-roofing or alterations to chimneys, ridge tiles etc", and that the restrictions will differ from area to area. So if your home is in a conservation area, a good roofer will suggest you check with the council's conservation team at conservation@peterborough.gov.uk before work starts, rather than assuming the job can go ahead as normal.

Your Rights If the Work Goes Wrong

The standard of the work. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, every contract for a service includes a term that the trader must carry it out with reasonable care and skill. If the work falls short, you can normally ask the firm to put it right, and if that cannot be done, ask for some of your money back.

Card payments. Section 75 and chargeback, as described above, can help if you paid by card.

Getting help. The Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133. It can talk you through your options and pass a case on to Trading Standards. If the firm belongs to Buy With Confidence, TrustMark or the NFRC scheme, that scheme may also have its own complaints route.

Am I Liable If a Roofer Falls Off My Roof in the UK?

This is one of the most common questions people ask before they hire a roofer. In most domestic jobs, the answer should reassure you, with one condition.

Working safely at height is the roofing firm's responsibility. The Health and Safety Executive says the purpose of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 is "to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height". The duties sit with employers and with those who control the work, and they must make sure it is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people using the right equipment. When you hire a roofing firm, it is the firm that decides how its people get onto your roof and how they stay safe there.

On a home job, the construction regulations pass your duties to the firm. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, the HSE says "A domestic client's duties automatically pass to the contractor" on a single-contractor job, or to the principal contractor where more than one firm is involved. You are not expected to know how to run a roofing job safely.

The law expects tradespeople to guard against their own trade's risks. Section 2(3)(b) of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 lets a homeowner expect that a tradesperson, "in the exercise of his calling, will appreciate and guard against any special risks ordinarily incident to it". For a roofer, the risk of working at height is part of the job.

The condition is that you chose sensibly. The same Act says that where someone is hurt because an independent contractor did the work badly, the occupier is not automatically answerable if they acted reasonably in giving the work to that contractor and took reasonable steps to check the contractor was competent. In practice that means the checks above, and in particular the insurance certificates. Ask for them, check the dates, and keep copies with your quote.

This section is general information, not legal advice. If someone has been hurt or you have received a claim, speak to a solicitor or contact Citizens Advice.

We do not name or recommend individual roofers, and a list on any website is only as good as the checks behind it. Judge a firm by what you can confirm: a Buy With Confidence or TrustMark listing, current insurance certificates, a written itemised quote, fair payment terms, and recent local jobs you can go and look at.

Watch for cold calling, a stranger telling you they noticed a problem with your roof, pressure to agree today, a demand for cash, no business address and no written quote. Any two of those together are a good reason to say no and get other quotes.

A deposit towards materials is normal. Paying the full price before work starts is not. Agree stage payments linked to finished work, and if you can, pay part of the cost by credit card for the extra protection of Section 75.

Usually, yes. For a service contract made at your home, the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract was made. If you asked in writing for work to start earlier and then cancel, you may have to pay for the work already done. Contracts where you asked a firm to visit for urgent repairs are excluded.

It can depend on the property. In Peterborough, the council says some homes are covered by an Article 4 direction that can restrict re-roofing or changes to chimneys and ridge tiles, and that the rules differ from area to area. If your home is in a conservation area, check with the council's conservation team before work starts.

Getting a Quote in Peterborough

When you are ready, tell us about the job and we will pass your enquiry to a local roofing firm, who will contact you with a free, no-obligation quote. Use the checks on this page on that firm as you would on any other. You can get a quote now, read our faq, or find out more about us and how the service works.