The short answer
Yes, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 reach roof work on a home, but a domestic client does not carry the heavy duties. Those pass to the contractor. Extra duties start once the project has several contractors, and a construction phase plan is needed even with a single one. You do not have to appoint anyone yourself.
What counts as a domestic client
The HSE treats you as a domestic client when building work is done on a house you live in, or a family member's home, with no business behind it. If you live in a house and pay a roofer to re-cover it, that is you.
Being one means the rules touch you lightly. You are not expected to write safety documents, run the site or inspect the scaffold. Your part is to choose a contractor who can do the work safely and to give them the access and information they ask for.
A landlord with a rented property is not a domestic client in this sense, because letting a home is a business. The same applies to the owner of a shop or unit, who carries the full client duties. If that describes you, the commercial roofing side of the business is the place to start.
Ask early which category you fall into if the home is about to be sold on, or if part of it is let.
For a normal homeowner the paperwork can stay in the background, and the real question is whether the firm you have chosen knows how to run a roof site safely.
Where the client's duties go
Regulation 7(1) hands a domestic client's duties on: the contractor takes over what would have been the client's role. Where one contractor is working, that is the firm you hired. Where several are, it falls on whichever of them the regulations make responsible.
That is the heart of the answer. A domestic client does not have to appoint a principal designer or a principal contractor, and the owner can concentrate on the choice of firm.
There is a trap in how this is often described. Some sources say the extra duties begin when a job is notifiable to the HSE. That is not how the 2015 rules work: the extra duties depend on whether more than one contractor is on the project, and notification does not come into it.
A re-cover with a scaffolder and a roofer can count as more than one contractor, depending on who is engaged by whom. The firm in charge should tell you how it is treating the job, and you can ask for that to be written into the quote or contract.
You will not be asked to read a regulation. Where there are several contractors, you should be able to ask who the principal contractor is and get an answer in a sentence.
The construction phase plan
Regulation 15(5) is short: the lone contractor on a project has to produce a written construction phase plan. Where there are several, regulation 5(1) calls for two appointments, principal designer and principal contractor, and the latter looks after the plan.
So a plan is needed in both cases. For an ordinary house re-roof it can be brief and practical. It covers work at height, edge protection, how the scaffold is erected and checked, how materials are lifted, where waste goes and how people at home are kept clear.
You can ask to read it. A firm that writes one hands it over without fuss, and a firm that does not know what you mean is telling you something about its habits. The plan follows from the survey: the pitch, the access, the neighbouring buildings and the state of the rafters all feed into it.
For you, it makes the job easier to follow. It should answer where the scaffold stands, which days the roof is open, and where the skip and the stacks of tile will sit.
If a roof has asbestos cement sheets or another special hazard, the plan has to deal with it as well, and the HSE's asbestos rules apply on top.
What this means when you pick a roofer
Turn the rules into questions. Who is the contractor in charge? Will anyone else work on site? How will the roof edge be protected, and who arranges the scaffold? Can I see the plan before work starts, and what happens if the stripped roof shows something unexpected?
A good answer is concrete. It names the scaffold, says when it goes up and comes down, and explains how neighbours will be told. A weak answer is a general reassurance with nothing on paper.
Good paperwork matches the survey. Photographs of the roof, a plain explanation and one written total price come first, and the method for running the job follows. For the day-to-day side, see whether you need to be at home during roof work, and who applies for a scaffold licence when the scaffold stands on a pavement.
If the contractor cannot answer a question, the HSE's guidance for domestic clients is the right reference. The wider picture for the area is on our homepage.
