How Much Does a New Roof Cost in the UK? (2026 Planning Guide)

Reviewed for 2026/27 prices. A new roof on a typical UK semi-detached house costs £6,500 – £12,000 fully fitted, with most homeowners paying around £8,000 – £9,000 for concrete tiles. Terraced re-covers start near £4,000 – £6,500, detached houses run £9,000 – £16,000, and large or complex roofs in natural slate regularly exceed £25,000.

Those figures cover the full job: stripping the old covering, disposal, new breathable membrane and battens, the covering itself, labour and scaffolding. They do not include structural timber repairs, which only reveal themselves mid-job. Our roof cost calculator builds the same estimate line by line for your own roof size, material and region.

What drives the price of a new roof

Four inputs decide most of the total. The roof area in square metres sets material and labour quantities. The covering — concrete, clay, slate or a flat membrane — sets the price per square metre. The roof shape decides how fast a gang can work: a simple gable is cheapest, and every valley, dormer or hip adds cutting, flashing and time. Finally, access decides the scaffolding bill, which is rarely below £800 on a two-storey house.

Region shifts the labour lines. London roofers and scaffolders charge roughly 20 – 30% more than the national average, while the North of England, Wales and Northern Ireland run 8 – 10% below it. Materials vary far less because merchants price nationally.

Where the money goes on a typical semi

For a 65 m² semi-detached re-roof in concrete interlocking tiles, a mid-range quote of about £8,750 (including new fascias and guttering) typically breaks down like this — the same lines our calculator produces:

• Strip & disposal — £1,100: stripping the old covering, felt and battens, plus a skip
• Covering materials — £1,300: around £20 per m² for branded interlocking tiles at trade prices
• Felt, battens & fixings — £780: breathable membrane, treated battens, clips and nails
• Labour — £2,400: about five gang days at £480 – £500/day for a two-person crew
• Scaffolding — £920: front and rear elevations for a standard hire period
• Fascias, soffits & guttering — £2,200: full uPVC roofline replacement while the scaffold is up

Cost by house type and covering

Interlocking concrete tiles are the benchmark because they cover a roof with around 10 tiles per m² — fast to lay and roughly £14 – £20 per m² to buy. Plain clay tiles need about 60 tiles per m², take nearly twice as long to lay and cost £30 – £60 per m² to supply. Natural slate ranges from £45 per m² for imported Spanish slate to £140+ for Welsh slate, and lays slowest of all — budget two to three times the labour of concrete. The full trade-offs are in our roofing materials guide and the concrete vs clay vs slate comparison.

MyBuilder's 2026 roofing price guide puts a typical UK new roof at £4,000 – £13,000 depending on size and material, which matches what our calculator produces for the same specifications.

What quotes leave out

Two quotes for the same roof can differ by thousands because of exclusions rather than the work itself. Before comparing, check each quote itemises:

• Scaffolding — the most common omission, worth £650 – £2,800 depending on the house
• Skip hire and disposal of the old covering
• New breathable membrane and battens — 'overlay' quotes that skip these are not comparable
• Ridge, verge and valley work, and leadwork around chimneys
• A day rate for timber repairs found during stripping
• Whether VAT is included — a 20% swing on a £9,000 job

Building regulations still apply

Renovating 50% or more of a roof counts as work on a 'thermal element', so the roof must be insulated to current standards and the job notified to building control. Roofers registered with the NFRC Competent Person Scheme can self-certify this and issue a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate; otherwise you need a building notice through your local authority. Our roof replacement cost guide explains the compliance side in more detail.

Hidden extras to budget for

Allow a 10 – 15% contingency on top of the estimate. Rotten rafter feet, wall plates and old leadwork are the usual discoveries once the covering comes off — individual rafter repairs run £150 – £400 each. If you are adding extras while the scaffold is up, fascias and guttering add £1,400 – £3,400, a chimney repoint £500 – £900, and each roof window £900 – £1,400 fitted.

How to get an accurate figure

Measure the roof area — roughly 1.3× the ground floor footprint for a typical pitched roof — decide the covering and scope, then run the calculator for a budget, mid-range and premium range. Follow up with at least three itemised quotes from reviewed local roofers, all pricing the same written specification, and never pay more than 25% up front.