How to choose a commercial flat roofing contractor

This site is a publisher of guides. It is not a roofing contractor and does not list contractors, so each check below is one you run yourself against the body that holds the record, before a contract is signed.

What should you check, and where?

Work down the table in order; the first four are desk checks.

Check	What it tells you	Where to run it
Company	Registered address, incorporation date and the rest of the public record. The legal entity on the proposal should match.	Companies House, via GOV.UK
Employers' liability	A current certificate in the contracting company's name. The legal minimum is £5 million of cover.	The certificate; the insurer on the Financial Conduct Authority register
Trade body	Whether the firm is an NFRC member.	NFRC trade member directory
Self-certification	Whether a competent person scheme covers your building and scope.	GOV.UK scheme list and the scheme's directory
Safety assessment	Health and safety management assessed against the SSIP core criteria.	The SSIP Portal, via SSIP
Enforcement history	Improvement and prohibition notices issued by HSE.	HSE public register
System certificate	An independent assessment of the exact roof system and any installer approval it needs.	The certificate issuer's own search

What does CDM 2015 ask of you as client?

HSE says a commercial client is any individual or organisation that carries out a construction project as part of a business. Regulation 8 says a person appointing a contractor must take reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that it has the skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capability for the role. Regulation 4 sends pre-construction information to every contractor appointed or being considered, and regulation 5 requires a principal designer and principal contractor, appointed in writing, where more than one contractor will work on the project. The CDM 2015 re-roof guide sets the duties out in order.

How do you check a contractor's insurance?

Ask for the certificate, not a statement that cover is in place. For employers' liability, regulation 3 of the 1998 Regulations sets the amount at not less than £5 million, and GOV.UK says an employer can be fined £2,500 every day it is not properly insured. Check the insurer is authorised on the Financial Conduct Authority register, as GOV.UK advises employers to do.

Public liability is a separate policy, so read its limit and exclusions against the risk your building and its neighbours carry, and ask whether hot works and sub-contracted labour are covered. Ask who will be on the roof and whether they are employees.

What do trade-body and scheme records prove?

NFRC says a contractor must pass a site and office inspection before joining and every three years after, against criteria that include a satisfactory trading record, inspection of live and past contracts, and insurance cover. It warns that a business may claim membership, or be listed elsewhere, without it being genuine, so use its own directory and match the name, address and contact details exactly.

A competent person scheme lets a registered installer self-certify certain work instead of getting building regulations approval. GOV.UK lists CompetentRoofer and NAPIT for replacement of roof coverings on pitched and flat roofs. Ask in writing whether the scheme's scope covers your building and the share of roof being renewed; the building regulations guide explains when approval is needed.

SSIP-type checks measure safety management, not workmanship. The SSIP Forum reports HSE's position that a member scheme certificate cannot on its own be taken as a sufficient assessment of organisational capability to start work on site. SSIP, CHAS and Constructionline explained covers what each checks, and the accreditations page covers the roofing trade schemes.

How do you check the roof system itself?

Trade membership says little about whether the build-up is certified. Ask for the system name, manufacturer and certificate number and check them with the issuer. How to read and check a BBA certificate gives the steps; BBA itself advises reading the whole certificate to confirm the parameters of use.

What must a written proposal itemise?

• the legal entity, its address and the named site supervisor;
• the system, manufacturer and certificate number, and the build-up layer by layer;
• the U-value target with its calculation, and the falls design;
• details at upstands, outlets, rooflights and penetrations;
• access, edge protection and how the roof is left safe each night;
• asbestos arrangements and any hot works controls;
• CDM roles, including who prepares the construction phase plan (regulation 4 puts it with the contractor where there is only one);
• the building control route and the certificate you will receive;
• the guarantee: type, issuer, term, cover and exclusions;
• programme and phasing for an occupied building, and how provisional items such as wet insulation are measured.

Ask whether the guarantee survives the contractor's insolvency. The NFRC Competent Person Scheme says commercial projects below a stated value can carry a ten-year insurance-backed guarantee against that risk, that projects above that value do not mandate it, and that the contractor must document this in the contract. The guarantees page explains the types and the cost guide what drives the price. For the documents around a proposal, see what a re-roof tender must say and JCT contracts, retentions and defects periods.

What are the red flags?

• A registration claimed on a website or van that is missing from the body's own directory, or listed under another company's name.
• An insurance certificate that names another company, has lapsed or shows less than the legal minimum.
• A price for a replacement without a roof visit or survey.
• A "lifetime guarantee" with no term, issuer or conditions in writing.
• No named supervisor, no list of sub-contractors, or pressure to start before the paperwork exists.

What if the roof is leaking now?

Urgency shortens the checks rather than removing them: the company record, the insurance certificate and the enforcement register take minutes. The commercial flat roof repair guide covers leaks, safety and duties. To talk through the checks for your roof, you can send an enquiry through the form on this page.

Sources

• Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, regulation 3, legislation.gov.uk (checked 22 October 2026).
• Employers' liability insurance, GOV.UK (checked 22 October 2026).
• CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 4, legislation.gov.uk (checked 22 October 2026).
• CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 5, legislation.gov.uk (checked 22 October 2026).
• CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 8, legislation.gov.uk (checked 22 October 2026).
• Commercial clients: roles and responsibilities, HSE (checked 22 October 2026).
• Get information about a company, GOV.UK (checked 22 October 2026).
• Find an improvement or prohibition notice, HSE (checked 22 October 2026).
• Find your local NFRC roofing contractor, NFRC (checked 22 October 2026).
• Combat the rise in roofing scams by checking before you hire, NFRC (checked 22 October 2026).
• Trade member directory, NFRC (checked 22 October 2026).
• Competent person scheme: current schemes, GOV.UK (checked 22 October 2026). Page shows: last updated 17 September 2026.
• Commercial property owners, NFRC Competent Person Scheme (checked 22 October 2026).
• What the scheme covers, NFRC Competent Person Scheme (checked 22 October 2026).
• View from the Health and Safety Executive, SSIP (checked 22 October 2026).
• Clients, SSIP (checked 22 October 2026).
• About SSIP, SSIP (checked 22 October 2026).
• Choose a BBA certified product, BBA (checked 22 October 2026).

Guides on this topic

• BBA certificates for roofing systems: how to read and check one
• Writing a re-roof specification: what the tender must say
• Roofing contracts: JCT, retentions and defects periods
• SSIP, CHAS and Constructionline: what contractor schemes prove