The short answer
Usually yes. Sign a roofing agreement at your own address, following a survey or a visit, and the Consumer Contracts Regulations class it as off-premises, giving you 14 days from agreeing to change your mind with no reason needed. Nobody telling you about the right can stretch the window, whereas a visit you specifically requested for an urgent repair is outside it.
Signing at the kitchen table does not lock you in. The law gives you a set period to change your mind, with a few exceptions that matter to roofing.
When the 14 days apply
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 cover a contract made in a place that is not the trader's business premises. That is the legal definition of an off-premises contract, and a roofing agreement signed in your living room after a survey fits it. For a service such as repairing or replacing a roof, the period closes when 14 days have passed since the day the contract was made.
Do you have to give a reason?
No reason is needed. Inside the period, the consumer is free to cancel whenever they like. Cancel in writing and keep a copy, and note the date you sent it. An email is usually enough, but the trader's own cancellation notice should say how to do it, and it is worth following that.
The 14 days is not a promise from any one firm; it is the position in law. For how it applies to your own paperwork, ring the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, particularly if a trader argues with your notice. Treat this page as a summary of the rules, not legal advice.
Starting work inside the 14 days
Some homeowners want the work to start straight away, and that is allowed, but it has conditions. For an off-premises contract, the work can begin inside the cancellation period only if your request is recorded in something you can keep and read again, which the Regulations call a durable medium. An email, a text message or a signed paper form all qualify.
Does starting work end your right to cancel?
Not on its own. Asking for an early start does not remove the right, but it does raise the question of what happens to work already done. Ask the roofer to set out in writing what would be owed if you cancelled once work had begun, before you agree, so nothing comes as a surprise. If a firm starts with no recorded request from you, the condition for an early start has not been met, and that is worth raising with Citizens Advice.
A scaffold booking can hide a start date too. Putting scaffold up where it blocks the highway brings in the highway authority's licence, and somebody must apply. A scaffold date can therefore be fixed before you have had time to think. Ask who is applying and when, so a booking never makes the decision for you.
No cancellation information means more time
A trader must tell you about your right to cancel before the contract is made. If that does not happen, the period is extended. The extension runs for up to 12 months beyond the date the original period would have closed. So a contract signed at home with no cancellation information could still be cancellable long after the first 14 days.
What should the paperwork show?
Look for a clear statement that you can cancel, how long you have, and how to do it, ideally with a form or a set of steps you can use. Where a quote and contract carry none of that, request the cancellation details in writing and file the answer. Do not rely on a remark on the doorstep, and do not sign until the wording makes sense to you.
The same attention to paperwork helps with the rest of the job. Our roofing quote checklist lists what a written price should show, and paying a roofer upfront covers deposits. If you do cancel, keep every message, because a clear written trail is what settles any later disagreement over deposits or work already done.
Urgent repairs are different
One exception catches homeowners out. Regulation 28(1)(e) takes the cancellation rights away if the consumer specifically asked the trader to visit for urgent repairs or maintenance. Ring a roofer because water is dripping through the ceiling, ask them to come out, and the 14-day right does not cover that urgent job.
Does a survey visit count as an urgent repair?
The exception is about a visit you asked for in order to carry out urgent repairs, and it is tied to those facts, so do not assume either way. Booking a re-roof after a survey is one case, and ringing for help with a leak in the middle of a storm is quite another. If you are unsure which one you have signed, ask Citizens Advice before the first 14 days run out.
Where a roof is leaking, making it safe comes first and the longer repair is discussed afterwards. If you want a roof looked at without any commitment, send photos through the form on our homepage and we can talk through what a survey would involve.
More on cancelling
When does the 14 days start counting?
The period ends once 14 days have gone by after the contract day, so the day you sign is not counted as day one. If you are close to the end, send your cancellation in writing straight away and keep proof of the date, such as a sent-email timestamp or a postal receipt.
Can I cancel if I signed at the roofer's office?
The off-premises rules are about contracts made somewhere other than the trader's own premises, so a contract signed at their office may not carry the same 14-day right. Look through the paperwork for a stated cancellation term, and ring Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 if you cannot tell where you stand.
The full picture: Roofers in Taunton ยท More short answers