Do I need planning permission?

If the work you need doing affects less than 50% of your roof area, it is unlikely that you will need planning permission. This is the case for most minor repairs, such as the replacement of broken tiles, renewing your ridge, and re-pointing your verges.

If the work affects more than 50% of your roof area, it is very likely you will need planning permission.

If in doubt, reach out to your local council. They will have advice available online, as well as contact details for any queries you may have.

If you carry out work without planning permission it is classed as a ‘planning breach’. It is not illegal, however, if your local council view the work as harmful to the neighbourhood you live in they may serve an enforcement notice requiring you to put things back how they were. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is illegal.

You can find more information about planning permission here: https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/responsibilities/planning-permission/failure-to-obtain-or-comply-with-planning-permission

Should I check if my property is in a conservation area?

Yes. If your property is in a conservation area it will dictate what types of products and materials that can be installed on your roof, including repairs.

It’s easy to check. Contact your local planning authority (LPA) through your local council website. Tell them your property address, the work you need doing, and ask if there are any restrictions.

If you don’t know who your LPA is, use the following link to the planning portal. This allows you to enter your address and automatically find your LPA: https://www.planningportal.co.uk/find-your-local-planning-authority

If you do not check this and proceed with building work, you may be committing a criminal offence.

Do I need scaffolding?

For minor repairs in easily accessible areas of your roof, it’s unlikely a full scaffold will be needed. However, there are considerations before ruling it out completely.

Scaffolding is generally a necessity where access to your roof area is difficult or unsafe using other means, such as a ladder or mobile tower. Another consideration is the nature of work. Handling materials and transporting them to and from the roof area using a ladder can be dangerous and more time consuming. Scaffolding, in conjunction with material hoists and debris netting, can make the work safer and protect roofers as well as you from falling debris.

Are you insured?

Yes. We have public indemnity and employer’s liability insurance. The insurance policies cover specific roofing activities and limits what roofing activities we can and can’t do.

We do not carry out work if we are not insured to do it. If you need work doing that falls outside the scope of our insurance policies, we will always employ another company who is suitably qualified and insured to do it themselves.

What guarantee do you give for the work?

We provide a 2-year workmanship guarantee as standard, and at no additional cost to you. There are limits to this cover, and the full details are available in our terms and conditions we send you before doing any work. This covers you if our work is at fault. We will come and repair the fault at our cost, as long as you can prove it is solely our fault and no other trades or people have altered our work.

We also offer insurance-backed guarantees covering a period to suit you. This is an extra cost to your quote, and covers you if our work is at fault but we are unable to come and rectify the fault ourselves.

My query isn’t covered in these FAQs?

Not a problem. Give us a call or send us an email with your query. If you have photos of your property or any issues your query relates to – even better.

Send your email to info@charliebravo.org and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

For phone calls, call Charlie on 07887 748 658. We may not always be able to answer when you call. If you can’t get through to us, just leave a voicemail or text and we will call you back as soon as we can.