Roof Tiles Blown Off: Is It Safe to Stay?

After a gale, go round the outside and look up, but do not stand close to the walls. Tiles fall in a line below the damaged part of the roof and can land a long way out if they are thrown by the wind. Stay well back, and watch for pieces that are hanging, tilting or moving.

What counts as a hazard?

Look for loose tiles sitting at an angle on a slope, a ridge line with gaps, flashing hanging from a chimney, a gutter sagging from the fascia board, and any chimney leaning or missing pieces. Look inside as well. Daylight showing through the loft, water on the ceiling or a draught in an upstairs room can all show where the covering has gone.

Photograph what you see from the ground, with the time and date, for the insurer and the roofer. Use a phone with a zoom instead of moving closer; a good zoom lets you check the whole roofline without leaving the lawn or the pavement. If damage hangs over a footpath or next door's garden, tell the people affected so that nobody walks underneath. Our guide to why a roof leaks when it is windy explains the weak points to look for.

Most of the time the answer is yes, with sensible changes. Avoid the rooms directly below the damaged slope, and keep away from the entrance or path beneath it. If the front door is in the drop zone, use another exit.

When should I leave?

Move out of the affected rooms, or the house, if a chimney stack is leaning or has lost pieces, if timber in the roof has visibly moved, if a ceiling is bowed and holding water, or if you can smell burning or hear crackling from the electrics. Switch off any circuit serving a wet area, then ring an electrician.

If anyone is in danger or injured, ring 999. Somerset Building Control deals with dangerous structures, which can mean roof tiles about to fall or a chimney that has become unstable. A high risk building is treated as a priority. Whoever owns a dangerous building pays to make it safe, so keep photographs and receipts. The number is 0300 303 7790.

If the house is not at risk, stay, but keep the affected area clear until the roof has been made safe.

The first step is to stop further harm. A make-safe can mean refixing loose tiles, fitting a temporary cover over the gap or pinning membrane over the exposed underlay, the layer beneath the tiles. The permanent repair follows after a survey.

Can the blown-off tiles be reused?

Sometimes. A tile that has come down in one piece can be refitted if the fixings are sound, but a cracked or chipped one cannot. Collect the pieces once the wind has dropped, and show them to the roofer. For older clay or slate roofs, an undamaged tile is worth keeping because the match can be hard to find.

A wider problem can sit behind blown-off tiles. Rusting nails, rotted timber and failed clips leave tiles loose long before a gale takes them, so the survey looks at the whole slope. Our answer on storm damage versus wear and tear explains why insurers ask that question.

Where scaffold has to stand on the road or pavement, the highway authority's licence is arranged by the scaffolder and us together.

If the damage followed a storm, tell the home insurer first. Policies set their own conditions on how and when to report, and on what temporary repairs are allowed. Fit a temporary repair if you can, and keep each receipt and photo.

Will the insurer pay?

Nobody can promise that. Which? reported that only 32 per cent of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout, so keep good records and ask the insurer to explain any refusal. The Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about insurers. Our page on home insurance and a leaking roof goes through the steps.

Photographs matter most. Take pictures of the tiles on the ground, the gap in the roof, any damage inside and the temporary repair once fitted. Photographs are vital evidence, according to the Institution of Structural Engineers.

Send us your photographs and tell us where the tiles came from. Our survey photographs the slope and ends in a single total price in writing for the repair. The emergency roof repairs page explains what happens next.