Roofers insurance in Edinburgh
On an Edinburgh tenement, the roof does not belong to the person who called you. It belongs, in some share, to every owner in the stair beneath it, and the water that gets past it goes into all of their homes. That single fact changes the job: a repair is negotiated between several owners or through a factor, the defect you are asked to fix may not be the one causing the damage, and a mistake produces claims from people you have never met.
Physically it is demanding work. Scottish slate on steep pitches, four and five storeys up, with stone chimney heads, complex leadwork, valleys and dormers, above a pavement that is rarely quiet. The Old and New Towns are listed and protected at the highest level, so materials and details are constrained; access is from narrow streets and closes; and scaffolding almost always stands on a public footway and needs a licence to do so. Wind off the Forth and hard frosts do the rest.
The exposure that generates the claim is usually below the roof rather than on it. It is the object that falls into a busy street, and it is the water that reaches four flats while the roof is open. Apex is a Bristol-based commercial broker and we arrange cover that reflects how the trade actually works, placed by a named broker who will present your risk properly to insurers who understand it.
Key covers for roofers
- Public liability — the cover that carries the weight here — injury to a pedestrian from falling material, damage to vehicles and neighbouring property, and water damage to the flats beneath an opened roof.
- Employers’ liability — legally required once you employ anyone, including labour-only sub-contractors, which is how most roofing gangs are made up.
- Tools and plant — theft from site, van or yard, and hired-in access equipment where the hire agreement puts responsibility on you.
- Contract works — your work in progress against fire, storm, water and vandalism before hand-over — essential when a tenement roof is open above occupied homes.
- Hot works — lead burning, torch-on and hot-air welding subject to permit and fire-watch conditions, which matter enormously on a building with timber roof structure and occupied flats below.
- Professional indemnity or a financial loss extension — where you survey, specify or advise on a common roof rather than only carrying out instructed work.
- Personal accident — optional cover if injury stops you working.
Tenement roofs, shared ownership and the street below
A roof shared between many owners. Where title deeds do not say otherwise, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 supplies default rules for the ownership and maintenance of common parts, including the roof. Practically, that means your client may be a factor, a committee of owners or one flat acting for the rest, and that a defect affects several parties at once. It also means clarity about scope matters: write down what you were asked to inspect and repair, because a leak that continues after your visit will otherwise be assumed to be yours.
Steep slate over a busy pavement. Traditional Scottish slate on a steep, high pitch is unforgiving. Anything dropped travels a long way and lands on a street that in the centre is rarely empty. That is the single most likely serious public liability claim in Edinburgh roofing, and it is the reason scaffold design, netting, fans and exclusion at ground level matter as much as the roof work itself.
Chimney heads and leadwork. Tenements carry multiple stone chimney heads, complex flashings, valleys and dormers. Much of the failure a roofer is called to is at these junctions rather than in the field of the slate. Lead work brings heat to a timber roof structure directly above occupied flats, which is why hot-works discipline is not a formality here.
Listed fabric and World Heritage status. The Old and New Towns are protected at the highest level, and much of the surrounding stock is listed or in a conservation area. Substituting a modern covering for natural slate is generally not available to you, matching is expected, and consent constrains changes to profile and detail. That raises the reinstatement cost of anything you damage.
Access, closes and licences. Streets are narrow, buildings are tall, and scaffolding almost always occupies a pavement, which requires a licence from the roads authority and imposes pedestrian management duties on you. Wind and winter weather then decide how long that scaffold has to stand there.
Compliance considerations for roofers
Working at Height Regulations 2005 — the regulation that sits behind almost every roofing job, and the first thing an underwriter asks about.
Hot-works permit and fire-watch conditions from insurers wherever torch-on, bitumen boilers, hot-air welding or lead burning are used.
Fragile-surface duties: rooflights, fibre-cement sheets and old glazing are a leading cause of fatal falls in roofing, and cover terms usually reflect how you manage them.
CDM 2015 duties on larger contracts — on many domestic re-roofs you are the only contractor, which puts more of the duty on you than people expect.
Competent-person scheme evidence (NFRC, CompetentRoofer and similar) where you hold it, and Building Regulations notification for a re-roof that changes more than a limited proportion of the covering.
Scaffolding: a design or a compliant standard configuration, handover documentation, and a licence from the highway authority wherever it stands on a pavement or road.
What can go wrong
A slate or a tool leaves the roof and injures a pedestrian or damages a vehicle in a busy central street — public liability responds, subject to the wording.
Rain enters an opened tenement roof overnight and damages several flats below, each with their own insurer.
Lead burning or torch work on a tenement roof ignites the timber structure — hot-works permit and fire-watch conditions bite.
A leak continues after a repair because the true defect was elsewhere on a common roof, and the owners look to you.
Scaffold on a public footway is damaged in a gale, or a pedestrian is injured passing it.
An operative falls from a steep slate pitch — employers’ liability responds, with RIDDOR reporting and regulator involvement likely.
Frequently asked questions
Who is my client when the roof is shared between flat owners?
Whoever actually engaged you — and that may be a factor, an owners’ committee or a single proprietor acting for the stair. The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 governs the shared ownership position where the deeds are silent, but for your purposes the important thing is a written record of who instructed you and what scope you agreed. Ambiguity there is what turns an unresolved leak into a claim.
What is the real risk on a high tenement roof?
The street. A dropped slate from four or five storeys onto a busy pavement is the most serious realistic accident in this work, and it is a public liability claim involving a member of the public rather than a client. Scaffold design, netting, fans and ground-level exclusion are the controls underwriters ask about.
Do I need a licence for scaffolding on the pavement?
In practice, almost always — scaffolding that stands on a public footway or road needs permission from the roads authority, along with proper pedestrian management. It is a legal requirement rather than an insurance one, but failing to do it properly makes any subsequent claim considerably harder to defend.
Is lead burning and torch work covered on a tenement?
Typically yes, subject to conditions — a hot-works permit and a fire-watch period after you finish. On a tenement there are homes directly beneath a timber roof structure, so this is one of the conditions least worth treating casually.
Can I substitute a modern covering for slate?
Usually not in the protected parts of the city, and often not elsewhere either. Listing and conservation-area status constrain materials and detailing, so specify on that basis. Where you advise on a covering and the advice is challenged, that is professional indemnity rather than public liability territory.
Do I need employers’ liability for a labour-only gang?
Yes — it is legally required if you employ anyone, and labour-only sub-contractors working under your direction count.
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