Putting back a few roof tiles is one of the smaller jobs a roofer does, and it is also a job where published prices vary widely. A cracked tile on a bungalow with a ladder and a clear path is a short visit. The same tile on a three-storey house, or one that cannot be matched, can need scaffolding and a search for stock.
Two national guides give figures. Which? (Nov 2025) gives £75 to £400 for a job covering up to six standard tiles that have broken or disappeared, excluding VAT. MyJobQuote (Oct 2026) gives around £215 for five tiles. Each is a typical UK range, so neither is a Farnborough price or a Fortis price.
This guide explains what those numbers cover, what pushes a tile job up or down, how to judge a quote and why a few missing tiles sometimes deserve a closer look than the repair itself.
The published figures and what they cover
The two guides measure slightly different things, so it helps to read each carefully before comparing.
| Source | Job described | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Which? (Nov 2025) | One to six standard tiles, broken or gone | £75 to £400 per job, ex VAT |
| MyJobQuote (Oct 2026) | Replace five roof tiles | around £215 |
Which?
The Which? figures come from a survey of 11 traders. Its prices carry labour and materials and leave out VAT. Standard VAT is 20%, so a homeowner should add it unless the quote already includes it.
MyJobQuote
MyJobQuote states a single average for five tiles. It does not say what VAT treatment applies, so ask whether any quote includes VAT.
Reading the two together
The Which? range is wide at both ends: £75 for a very small job, £400 for the upper end of six tiles with awkward access. The MyJobQuote number falls inside it. For a house with a plain slope, the range gives a sensible sense of scale: a few tiles is a small bill, not a roof-sized one. It is also a reminder that the visit itself, getting to the spot and making it good, is a large part of what is paid for, as well as the tile.
The Which? survey describes work on standard tiles, so a hand-made clay tile, a slate or a rare profile is a different matter. If your roof is covered in something other than a common concrete or clay tile, treat the range as a starting point and expect the survey to refine it.
What neither figure tells you is the tile itself, the height of your roof or whether scaffolding was used. A price for a hard-to-reach, rare tile can sit well above a published range, and a price for an easy job on a low roof can sit below it.
What raises or lowers the price
Tile replacement is priced by the effort of reaching the spot, the work around it and the cost of the tile itself. Four things do most of the moving.
Access
A single-storey roof reachable by ladder is the easiest case. A tall house, a steep slope or a roof behind a conservatory raises the effort. On some jobs, scaffolding or a tower is the safe way to reach the work, and that adds to the total. A ladder alone is not right for every roof, and the survey settles what the work needs before anyone goes up.
The tile
A common concrete interlocking tile is easy to buy. A clay plain tile in an unusual colour, an old hand-made tile or a slate with a particular size is harder to find, and the search takes time. Matching is covered in the next section.
What is under the tile
A tile that has slipped may have a rotten batten under it, or a torn patch of underlay. Those parts are repaired at the same visit. That is the reason the visit checks the timber under the tile, as well as the tile.
Number and spread
Five tiles in one patch is a smaller job than five tiles scattered over four slopes, since each patch has to be reached, opened and closed again.
Weather and timing
Tiles are fixed on a dry roof. A job held up by rain or wind may need a second visit, and a roof left open overnight needs covering. Small jobs are planned around the forecast, and the day of the visit is agreed with you in advance.
A tile price that sounds low can be one that skips the check underneath. Ask what will be inspected, and whether photographs come with the visit.
Matching new tiles to old
On many roofs the replacement tile will not look quite like its neighbours. Tiles weather over decades, losing colour and gaining moss and lichen stains, and a new one is brighter. That mismatch fades, but it is worth setting expectations.
Same pattern, different age
Where the pattern is still made, we order the nearest colour and profile. Marley and other makers list profile and minimum pitch on their data sheets, and the pitch has to be right for the tile in question. Marley's published minimums include 35 degrees for its plain concrete tile and 22.5 degrees for smooth Double Roman, so a replacement has to suit the slope, as well as the style.
Reclaimed tiles
For clay tiles or older concrete tiles that are no longer made, reclaimed stock is an option. Reclaimed tiles bring their own age and weathering, which helps with colour. The supply can be limited, though, and a particular tile may need a search.
Using tiles from a hidden slope
On older roofs, a common method is to take good tiles from a rear slope or an outbuilding and use them on the front, with the new ones fitted out of sight. It keeps the street view even, but it needs more handling and more time, so it is not free.
When the match is not possible
If the tile cannot be matched, the options go to you with photographs of each. For a scattering of different tile types across a roof, the question moves from replacement to whether the roof has reached the point where a re-lay is the better buy. Our guide to slipped roof tiles looks at that decision.
Scaffolding, VAT and the written quote
Two items cause most confusion when quotes are compared: scaffolding and VAT. The words on a quote tell you whether they are in the price.
One total price
Our quote is a single total in writing, after the survey. It includes the scaffold access the work needs and states VAT. When you hold two quotes, check those two points first, because a lower figure that leaves out either of them is not lower at all.
VAT in plain terms
The standard rate is 20%. VAT makes up one sixth of a bill that includes it, so a price quoted without VAT is not a fifth lower than the real bill. Which? states its own figures ex VAT, and the sensible habit is to add it before comparing.
Scaffolding on the road
Scaffolding set up on the road or pavement blocks the highway, so section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 brings in the highway authority's licence, which a scaffold on your own land does not need. The licence takes working days to arrange, which is one reason a small job that needs one is planned ahead, and the cost sits in the one price you are given.
Getting more than one quote
Citizens Advice's suggestion is to gather at least 3 written quotes before choosing. For a small repair that may be more than you need, yet it is sensible when the quote is large or the cause is unclear.
Our pitched roofing page lists the other jobs that sit alongside tile repairs.
Why a quick ladder fix is risky
A broken tile looks like something an owner could swap on a Saturday, and that thought is the start of many insurance claims and hospital visits. Roofs are hazardous places, and the tile you can see is only one part of what the job involves.
The roof itself
Wet tiles, moss and lichen are slippery. A slope that feels solid underfoot can crack the very tile you are trying to replace. Standing a ladder against guttering can crack or bend it, and a ladder with no tie at the top can slide sideways. A trained roofer spreads their weight with a roof ladder or crawling board and works with fall protection suited to the job.
What you cannot see from below
From the ground, a gap in the tiles looks like a gap in the tiles. Up close, it may be a rotten batten, a torn underlay or a split in the next course. Fixing only the visible tile leaves the cause in place.
The price of getting it wrong
A badly fixed tile can slide again in the next gale, and a cracked neighbour will cost more than the tile you were replacing. If you do decide to try a repair, keep it to the lowest roofs and take advice before you start. For anything above a single-storey roof, a roofer with the right access equipment is the safer choice, and the roof stays dry in the meantime.
Our guide to cleaning your own roof sets out the same access risks for a different job.
Only the tiles, or the roof beneath?
A tile does not usually fail without a reason. The reason decides whether a few new tiles will last.
Why tiles come off
The common causes are old nail fixings that have corroded, tiles that were never well fixed, a batten that has rotted, frost damage to old concrete or clay, and wind that lifts a tile that was already loose. If the fault is local, such as one cracked tile, a straight swap is a good repair. If the fixings or battens have failed over a large area, replacing tiles one at a time hides the real problem.
What the survey looks for
- Whether the tiles are cracked, loose or both.
- Whether the battens beneath are firm.
- Whether the underlay under the gap is torn.
- Whether the nearby ridge and verge are sound.
- Whether the roof shows the same wear elsewhere.
Typical life, as a guide to the bigger picture
HomeBuilding (Sep 2025) gives plain concrete tiles 40 to 50 years and clay 60 to 80 years. The BRE minimum of 60 years is for clay tiles only. These are typical lives, not promises, and a roof of that age does not necessarily fail on the date.
Costs for the bigger jobs
If the picture is bigger than a few tiles, national guides price a whole roof too. For a three-bed house, Which? lists £7,000 to £21,000 ex VAT (Nov 2025), and MyJobQuote lists around £5,250 (Oct 2026). Our guide to roof replacement cost sets out why those two sit far apart.
MyJobQuote also lists an average repair of around £650 in 2026 (Oct 2026), a figure that sits above a few tiles and well below a re-roof.
