The short answer
Often yes. If a roofer approached you or came to your home and you signed there, the deal counts as off-premises, so you can pull out within 14 days and need not explain why. If the trader never told you about that right, the window can stretch to as long as 12 months. There is no cooling-off right when you specifically asked for an urgent repair visit.
The 14-day cooling-off window
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give a right to cancel an off-premises contract. That means a deal made anywhere other than the trader's own business premises, which includes your kitchen table after a roofer has been up to look at the roof. You may cancel without giving any reason.
For a service the period lasts 14 days, with day one being the day after signing. Citizens Advice explains that the right applies where the business approached you away from its premises and the work costs £42 or more.
So if you signed on a Tuesday, day one is the Wednesday. Write the date down and keep a copy of whatever you signed.
You do not have to wait for the work to go wrong. The right exists because people sometimes agree to a big job under pressure at their own front door.
A contract made at the roofer's premises, or one you arranged yourself after comparing quotes, is treated differently. Check how yours came about before you rely on this page, and ring the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 if you are unsure.
When the window stretches to 12 months
Cancellation rights have to be explained to you in writing before the clock starts to matter. Where nobody explained them, the period runs longer, by up to 12 months beyond the point at which the 14 days would have ended.
That is a long stretch, and it is why a roofing contract should carry a cancellation notice and a form to use. Look for it among your papers. If there is none, keep that fact in mind, because it may give you more time than you thought.
One more rule catches people out. If you want work to begin inside the 14 days, an off-premises contract needs your request on a durable medium, which means something written, such as an email or a signed form. Starting early keeps your right to cancel until the work is done, though you may owe a fair sum for work already done.
Think twice about a large deposit before the cancellation notice is in your hands. Our answer on roofer deposits explains what a reasonable one is for.
Whichever date applies, cancel by email with a delivery receipt, or by recorded-delivery letter, and keep the proof. That beats a phone call every time.
The urgent-repair carve-out
The right does not cover everything. Regulation 28(1)(e) removes it where you have specifically invited the trader round to deal with an urgent repair or some maintenance. Citizens Advice makes the same point: inviting a business in for an urgent repair means no automatic cooling-off period.
That matters on a roof. Rain through a ceiling, or a ridge shifted by a gale, can make a call-out truly urgent. If you rang a firm and asked them to come for that reason, the cooling-off right does not apply to the repair you asked for.
The carve-out is narrow. It concerns the repair you requested, not a bigger job a trader suggests while on site. If you called about a leak and were then talked into a full re-roof, the second contract is a separate matter, and a cooling-off period can apply to it.
It also does not help a trader who knocked unasked. A cold caller offering to look at your roof has not been specifically requested. Our answer on roofers who knock after a storm deals with that.
How to cancel, and what comes next
Put the cancellation in writing, state that you are cancelling and give the date the contract was made. Send it to the address on the paperwork and, where there is one, the email address as well. Keep a copy and a note of when it went.
Ask for any deposit back. A trader should refund what you paid when you cancel within the period, although a fair deduction may arise if you asked for work to start early. If a refund is refused, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 will tell you the next step, and it is the right first call.
If the roof still needs work, get it looked at before committing to anyone else. Citizens Advice says you should collect written quotes from at least 3 traders, and our answer on how many roofing quotes to get explains how to weigh them.
A roofer sure of the work will not mind you taking time. Our approach is to survey the roof, show you what the survey finds and give one written total price, so the decision is in front of you before you sign. The homepage sets out the whole process.
