The short answer
Yes. A written quote records what will be done, to which part of the roof, for what total price, so both sides know what was agreed. Ask for the scope, a note on VAT and scaffolding, and cancellation information if you sign at home. Citizens Advice wants you to collect written quotes from at least 3 traders.
Why paper beats a promise
Roof work is hard to check from the ground, so the paperwork carries more weight than usual. A written quote turns a conversation into a record. If the work later differs from what you expected, you have something to point to, and so does the roofer.
It also forces a firm to think. A roofer who has to commit to a scope on paper has to have looked at the roof, understood what is wrong and decided how to fix it. A vague phone number can be produced in a minute and says nothing.
Citizens Advice says to try for written quotes from at least 3 different traders before you decide. The spread shows you several approaches, though it only helps if each quote describes the same job. Otherwise you are weighing unlike things.
For urgent leaks, getting three quotes may not be realistic. Even then, ask for the proposed work and price to be sent by message or email before anyone starts. A short written note is better than nothing.
Our page on roof repair cost sets out typical UK ranges and what moves them.
What a good scope and one total price look like
The scope says what will be done and where. For a repair, that might be replacing a named number of tiles on the rear slope, renewing a flashing at a chimney, or relaying a section of valley. It should say what is excluded, and what happens if the work uncovers something unexpected, such as rotten battens.
The price should be one total for the whole job. Ask if VAT is in the total (the standard rate is 20%) and if scaffolding or a tower is covered when access needs it. Those two points explain many apparent gaps between quotes.
A price shifts with the height of the work, the extent of the repair, the covering and whatever the survey turns up. As national guides, Which? (Nov 2025) shows a typical UK range of £75 to £400 for a handful of standard tiles, excluding VAT, and MyJobQuote (Oct 2026) averages around £215 for five tiles. Neither is a price from any one firm.
A decent quote also names the covering to be used, the materials, the start window and who will be on site. A firm that gives one written total after the survey leaves you with nothing to decode.
Cancellation information and your rights
When a contract is made at your home, such as after a survey and a signature on the doorstep, it is an off-premises contract. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 let you cancel such a contract in the 14 days after the day it is made. The trader has to tell you, and where no one does, the cancellation period is extended by as much as 12 months.
Starting the work within the 14 days needs a clear request from you, in writing or on a durable medium such as email. Urgent work you specifically ask the trader to attend is the exception, since regulation 28(1)(e) removes the right to cancel there, so be sure which kind of job you are agreeing to.
Beyond cancellation, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires reasonable care and skill in a service, and section 52 deals with a reasonable time where none is fixed. A written scope makes both easier to assess.
If something goes wrong, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133. Our page on cancelling an emergency roof repair covers the urgent case.
Setting the quotes side by side
Lay the quotes side by side and ask three things of each. Does it describe the same work on the same part of the roof? Is there a single total, and are VAT and access equipment stated as in or out? If two quotes differ widely, ask why before choosing the lower one, because the gap is often a different scope, a different covering or a missing line on access.
Watch for pressure. A price that is only good today, a deposit demanded in cash or a refusal to put anything in writing are all reasons to pause. Take your time wherever you can, keep copies of everything you sign and ask for the quote in a form you can read again at home.
Ask what happens if more turns up once the work begins, and how that would be agreed with you before it is done. The answer should be a conversation and a revised written price, not a surprise at the end.
For an emergency, see emergency roofer cost, and the roof repairs page explains how we work: the survey, the pictures and the one written price that follows.
