The short answer
A new roof can make a house easier to sell, but no reliable percentage exists for what it adds, so a single figure quoted online is a guess. What counts is what a buyer's surveyor and a lender's valuer see: a sound covering, tidy ridge and flashings, healthy timbers, and paperwork showing who did the work and what it covered.
A roof rarely lifts a price by a tidy sum. It removes a worry that would otherwise be priced in, or send a buyer elsewhere.
What a buyer's surveyor looks for
A surveyor works from the ground, from a ladder where they can, and often from the loft hatch. They look along the covering for slipped or broken tiles and slates, at the ridge and hips for loose or cracked bedding, at valleys and flashings for lifted or split metal, and at the roof line for a sag or dip. Inside, they check the underside for damp staining and chinks of daylight.
What happens if the report flags the roof?
A survey that says the roof needs attention can stall a sale or reopen the price. The report may suggest a roofer's inspection before exchange, and that is the moment a written, photographed account of the roof helps both sides. Sellers who want a clear picture before listing can begin with our roof inspection service.
MyJobQuote gives around £300 as the usual price of a roof survey (Oct 2026). Set against a re-roof, that is a modest sum to pay for knowing exactly what the roof needs before a sale, rather than guessing and being corrected by a buyer's report.
Why a lender's valuer cares
A mortgage lender wants the house to be good security for the loan. A valuer who sees an obviously failing roof can mark the property down or ask for repairs before lending. A roof in sound order, with no visible defects, does not start that conversation.
Does a new roof lock in a higher valuation?
No. Valuers compare your house with similar sales nearby, so location, size and the condition of the whole property set the figure. A new roof takes away one reason to mark a house down, and it carries no promise of a higher one. Any percentage would be invented, and the market in Taunton, in Wellington or out on the Levels moves for reasons that have nothing to do with tiles.
A new covering does change how long you can expect the roof to keep going. Marley reckons on around 60 years for its roof tiles and says plainly that this is no warranty. Our guide to how long a roof should last goes through the ranges for each covering.
Buyers are also looking at the whole story. A fresh roof on a house with damp walls does not cancel the damp, so treat the roof as one part of the picture.
Paperwork a buyer wants to see
A buyer's solicitor and surveyor both like documents. Keep the written price, dated pictures of the roof from before and after the job, the receipts, and the name of the firm that did the work. If building control was involved, the completion certificate belongs in the same folder.
Is a completion certificate always issued?
No. A normal re-roof needs no building control application where under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof is affected, so there is nothing to certify in that case. Where the work does go through building control, the council issues a certificate at the end. Our answer on the certificate after a re-roof covers when one exists and how to ask for a copy.
Photographs of your own roof matter most. Our survey records them, so you hold evidence of the condition before the work, and of the finished roof afterwards if you ask. Pop them in a folder with the receipts and you have what a conveyancer will request.
Spending on a roof before a sale
Whether to repair, re-roof or leave alone depends on the roof, not on the sale. MyJobQuote gives around £650 as an average roof repair and around £5,250 for a new roof, while HomeBuilding prices a 65 square metre semi in plain concrete tiles at £10,000 to £15,000, scaffolding and insulation included (Oct 2026 and Sep 2025). These are typical UK ranges.
When is a repair enough?
Where the roof is sound apart from a fault or two, such as a few slipped tiles, a worn valley or a cracked ridge, repair is usually the sensible choice before selling, and it answers what a survey would flag. If the battens are failing or tiles keep slipping over an entire slope, a buyer's survey is likely to raise it again, and a re-roof closes the question.
Our own survey comes first: we photograph your slopes, talk you through the pictures and then put one total in writing, so you decide with the facts. Compare options with what a new roof costs in the UK, or return to the roof replacement hub.
More on roofs and selling
Should I re-roof ahead of listing the house for sale?
Only if the roof needs it. A sound roof with a few small faults is often better repaired, and a survey of your own tells you which case you are in. If the covering is failing across a whole slope, a buyer's surveyor will find it, so putting it right first avoids a price argument later, and gives you a clean set of records to hand over.
Will a new roof change my home insurance or mortgage?
That depends on your insurer and your lender, so tell both what has been done and ask whether it changes anything. Keep the written price, photos and receipts to hand, since each provider sets its own terms. Ask for any reply in writing and file it with your roof paperwork.
The full picture: Roof replacement and new roofs in Taunton · More short answers