New roof installed to fix a leak, leak came back worse in 6 months. Roofer now avoiding me.

IrinaSa

Hi everyone,

I need some advice on a roofing nightmare that's been going on for over a year.

I live in the upper floors (first & second) of a Victorian terrace, with a separate ground-floor flat below. 

For about 7 months, we had a persistent leak under a dormer window. After repeated (and expensive) patches, it got drastically worse. We got multiple quotes from both big and local roofers.

All professionals advised a full roof replacement nstead f patching up( no one exactly said where the source of the leak was ). I personally favoured a younger, local company whose reviews and reasoning seemed very sound. The downstairs neighbour preferred a different company, but we went with my choice based on trust. The work was done over Christmas 2024/New Year 2025. They installed new slate, breathable membrane, etc. The flat went from damp and musty to dry and lovely. The leak was gone, and I was thrilled.

Six months later (around July 2025), the leak reappeared in the exact same spot, worse than before. I called the company. They came out and claimed the issue was with the lead work around the dormer window. They stated "we decided not to change the lead work." This is completely false.

1. They never asked us about omitting lead work. We are not professionals; we would never have been in a position to say 'yes' or 'no' to such a technical decision.

2. Our only, repeated instruction was to fix the leak. That was the entire purpose and scope of the job.
It's now been 8 months since the leak reappeared , it’s leaking bad despite company 4 attempts to paint and put adhesive over the lead.  They are becoming completely reluctant to engage—not outright refusing, but avoiding calls and not following up.

My Stance:

I have paid for the full roof replacement already (shared cost with ground floor ) . My purpose of changing the roof was purely to fix this leak. 

What are my rights here? The roof is under 12 months old. The company is effectively in breach of contract, as the primary issue it was meant to fix is not resolved. 

Where can I complain ? Who may help here ? Should I just look for a different roofer instead ? 

GDB2222

There’s nobody to complain to. You either issue court proceedings, or you don’t. The proceedings should be in the name of whoever instructed the roofer in the first place, which means roping in your downstairs neighbour. None of us have seen the contract with the roofer, so it’s not possible to tell whether you would win the case.

Have you had quotes for the cost of renewing the lead work? I’d expect £500-1000 plus the cost of scaffolding. It might be sensible to get quotes, so at least you have an idea of how much you are arguing about. You might even get a good deal from the roofer who did the work. 

nitrousxs

If the job was instructed to fix that leak, the roofer had a duty to either address all necessary elements. At this stage, an independent inspection and a formal written demand to the roofer would be sensible before paying a second contractor.

twopenny

Do you have a detailed report of what the roofer was going to do or had done?

Did he ever say that he had found the leak or fixed it? What did it say on the final bill?  Was there a list of materials?

Anywhere in writing that you said 'do what is necessary to fix the leak' ?

Are you sure that the leak is coming from the roof? If it came back in the middle of summer that sounds like a pipe or guttering problem as it was a very dry summer.

It's beyond exasperating when trades won't reply and I have had a similar problem myself on a smaller scale but where tiles were replaced and the lead work not done properly. That took a lot of 'discussio' before they reluctantly came back and redid it 

IrinaSa

Dear all,

Thank you  for your helpful responses. Unfortunately, I do not have a signed contract, only a quotation (which I will try to attach). I also have a video where they explained what work was needed to fix the problem, but they never mentioned lead work around the dormer window—nor was it included in the quote.

I’ve since found out  that this type of job is very  costly (I’ve been quoted around £4,500) and difficult.  I’m not certain exactly where the leak is coming from, the gutters have been checked and are not the cause.

Several other roofers have also commented that the slate work is of very poor quality. Ultimately, I’ve been left with a new roof that is not fit for purpose—both based on feedback from other professionals. And still have the ongoing leak, which is likely related to the lead work around the dormer window, but I am not sure and no one is sure 

Any further advice would be greatly appreciated!

IrinaSa

I am. Trying to attach pictures 

GDB2222

If you want to start legal proceedings, you need a surveyor to tell you what is wrong and how to fix it. The roofer has done what he quoted for, and unless deficiencies in that work have led to the problem, it is not obvious that you have a valid case. 

Out of interest, you had quotes from several companies. How many included the lead work? If all the other quotes included the lead, why choose a quote that didn’t?  Equally, if none of the other quotes included the lead, why do you think the roofer you chose was negligent? 

You don’t need a signed contract by the way. The quote formed the basis of the contract,  which both parties agreed to go ahead with. 

sheramber

Another roofer may criticise the work to get the job of replacing it.

Have any of these roofers found the source of the leak?

You need to establish where the leak is coming from before doing any repair work. 

Water will find the easiest way out , which can be a different place from the source. 

 

IrinaSa

Dear all,

Thank you very much for your reply and, to be honest, the reassurances.

None of the roofers who had inspected the roof earlier suggested lead work. At that time, I didn’t even know what lead work meant—only now am I becoming something of an expert in this.

Previously, all roofers told me the leak was coming from above, likely due to some broken tiles. However, now that several roofers have inspected it again (with a new roof in place), they are all telling me,  that the roof was done very badly and that I should consider going to “court”—something I obviously want to avoid.

They also all agree that the leak is coming from the dormer around the window, which should have been replaced, and they are shocked it wasn’t. That is exactly what has upset me so much.

Based on your advice, I think I will let go of the idea of getting money back and instead seek more opinions before jumping into expensive lead work. I’m still not entirely sure what the best plan of action is for me, but it looks like there’s no straightforward legal solution unless I pay for an expensive survey—and even then, there’s no guarantee.

Thank you again for your guidance.