The short answer
Sometimes. A deposit is reasonable when the roofer has to order materials made or cut for your roof, such as a particular tile, slate or roof window. It should cover what is ordered and no more, be named in a written quote, and be paid by a traceable method. Be careful with a big cash payment demanded before any survey, order or date.
When a roofer may fairly ask for money up front, how to judge the amount, how to pay safely and what the paperwork should say.
When a deposit is reasonable
A deposit makes sense when the roofer must spend money before turning up. The usual case is a special order: a tile profile that is not held in a merchant's yard, a natural slate cut to size, a roof window made in a particular dimension, or a roll of lead for a detail that has to be formed. The supplier wants payment, the roofer cannot return the goods once they are made for your house, and a deposit shares that risk fairly.
A deposit is harder to justify on a small repair. Re-seating a slipped tile, clearing a gutter or renewing a short length of flashing uses materials already on the van, so there is nothing to order. Paying on completion is the normal arrangement there, and a request for money in advance deserves a question or two.
It is also fair to ask for a deposit to be tied to something real. If the roofer says it covers materials, ask which ones and when they will be ordered.
None of this applies to a roofer who has not yet seen your roof. Money should follow a survey and a written price, never come before them.
How much is a fair deposit
There is no standard percentage, so anyone quoting a fixed rule is guessing. The better test is to match the deposit to the cost of what has to be ordered. If the made-to-order materials come to a fraction of the job, the deposit should be about that fraction, not a round half of the total.
Check the whole arrangement, not only the first payment. A sensible schedule has a modest sum to order materials, perhaps a stage payment when a long job passes an agreed point, and the balance only when the work is finished and you are happy with it. If the roofer wants most of the price before a tile has been lifted, treat that as a warning.
Staged payments on a large re-roof are not unusual, because the roofer carries real material costs before the roof is watertight. Ask for the stages to be tied to events you can see, such as the materials arriving on site or the old covering being stripped, rather than to calendar dates.
Keep the price comparison honest. Citizens Advice says to gather a few written quotes first, and the payment terms deserve a comparison alongside each total.
Paying safely
Use a method that leaves a record. A bank transfer to a named business account, or a card payment, shows who was paid and when. Cash leaves nothing behind except a receipt, if you are given one. Where a roofer insists on cash for a first payment, ask why, and ask for a receipt that carries the date, the amount, the name of the firm and a signature.
Check who is being paid. A genuine business has a name, a landline or mobile you can call back, and an address for correspondence. A trader who offers nothing but a mobile number is one to be careful with, according to Citizens Advice. If a name on the quote does not match the name on the bank account, stop and ask.
Never hand over money to a stranger who knocks on the door and says they spotted a problem. Our answer on what to do when a roofer knocks on your door covers that situation, and our guide on how to tell a dodgy roofer lists other signs to check.
Finally, do not pay the final balance until you have walked round the job, looked at the photos of the work, and confirmed that the site is clear.
What to get in writing
Ask for the quote on paper or by email before any money moves. It should show one total price for the job, the amount of the deposit, what the deposit is for, the dates or stages when the rest falls due, and the start date. It should say too whether VAT and scaffold sit inside the total.
We begin with a survey, send you photos taken on your roof, and follow with a single total price on paper. A deposit, where one is needed, goes on that same document, so nothing rests on a phone call.
Signing at home brings a right to cancel. The consumer regulations allow 14 days counting from the day you sign. A roofer wanting to begin sooner needs your request for that in writing or by email, and where no cancellation information was given the period can run longer.
Should a roofer take a deposit and then fail to start or deliver, Citizens Advice runs a consumer helpline, and it is the place to start. The helpline can also advise on poor work, since the Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects reasonable care and skill from anyone providing a service. See our roofing pages for the work we price after a survey.
More on this in Roofers in Crawley: the full guide
Two more deposit questions
Can I get a deposit back if the job never starts?
Possibly. Much depends on what the written terms say and why the job stopped. If you cancelled within the legal cancellation period, you can ask for a refund, though a roofer may deduct for work you asked to start early. Keep every message and receipt, and call Citizens Advice if the roofer refuses.
Does a roofer asking for no deposit mean anything?
No. Many repairs and standard re-roofs are paid on completion because the roofer buys materials from a merchant's account. Asking for nothing up front is simply a different way of working. What matters is the paperwork: one written total, a clear start date and a payment schedule you understand.