Hampshire · London and the South East
The Frenches Landlord Roof Survey
We take a careful look at the let or shared roof at your property in The Frenches, with photos and a written report.
- Standing water on a flat roof
- Missing or loose roof coverings
- Chimney stacks in poor repair
Landlord roof surveys for homes and businesses in The Frenches
Who pays for roof work on a block depends on the lease. We can’t advise on what your lease says but we can give you an independent record of the roof’s condition. It helps owners and managers discuss the next steps from the same facts. You get photos and written recommendations, prioritised by urgency where relevant. If you’re worried about cracked or lifting flashings and gaps where tiles or slates have slipped, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
In a village or hamlet like The Frenches, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are frequently old. We report on what can be seen safely, and thatch is a specialist material. On older roofs, it is normally the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
We keep jargon out of it: if work is needed, the report says so clearly, along with how urgent it is.
- Location
- The Frenches (SO51)
- Region
- Hampshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
The Frenches: your questions answered
How do I find out if my home in The Frenches is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
I let a flat near Mottisfont & Dunbridge station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, letting agents and landlords book with us as well as owners. Just ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and let us know about the building, including who will give access on the day.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. A shared roof needs access agreed first, with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you contact us and we will plan the survey around it.
Can you survey in bad weather?
A survey can typically go ahead in light rain. High wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so if conditions aren’t right we will arrange another day with you.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Surveys run on any day of the week. To arrange a date, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. Our sub-250g drone is flown by a CAA-registered operator with a Flyer ID and Operator ID, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
How much is a survey?
Prices start from £150, including VAT. You’ll know the price for your roof before booking, based on the roof’s size, access and package. For a price, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
How the survey works
The visit has one job: to look at the let or shared roof as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. The visit normally takes roughly 1–2 hours at most homes, with bigger or more complicated roofs taking longer. In a small place like The Frenches, access is usually the main thing to plan. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- First, we confirm the scope and the purpose of the report.
- You arrange access to the loft and any flats we need.
- Each roof is looked at from safe vantage points and inside where possible.
- Every defect is photographed and its urgency noted where relevant.
- You get a written report to plan maintenance and budgets.
Getting ready for the survey
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
How to book
Getting a price is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email, let us know about the property and we’ll point you to the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
What we cannot see
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Responsibility under a lease
- Confirming asbestos in older roof materials
- The structure in the way a structural engineer would assess it
If you’re not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you book. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Flat roofs on blocks
- Gutters and downpipes
- Rented houses
- Converted houses
- Blocks of flats
- Shared roofs
Also near The Frenches
Also in The Frenches
Why get it checked now?
Budgets work best when they’re based on the roof’s actual condition. Our report separates urgent items from those that can wait, so spending can be spread sensibly. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like The Frenches, driving rain gets into any weakness, and older walls, once damp, take a long time to dry.
Every price we give includes VAT, and the report isn’t charged as an extra. Prices start from £150, including VAT. Where your roof sits in the range depends on its size, height and access.
Why book us in The Frenches
- Surveys on weekdays and at weekends
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Clear package prices, including VAT
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and our case studies.
Do you need a landlord roof survey in The Frenches?
A roof nobody lives directly under can be easy to overlook. Small defects go unnoticed until water comes through a ceiling and by then more has been damaged.
People usually book a survey after spotting one of these:
- Standing water on a flat roof
- Leaks into upper flats
- Cracked or lifting flashings
- Gaps where tiles or slates have slipped
For landlords with property near Mottisfont & Dunbridge station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
What to check before booking
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- What insurance they carry
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
Should I look at the roof myself first?
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight.
How the survey changes by roof type
Gutters and downpipes
Blocked gutters cause many leaks into top-floor flats. We check gutters, outlets and downpipes as far as can be seen safely.
Party-wall upstands and parapets
We inspect the parts of a shared roof we can access and note what couldn’t be seen.
Landlord roof surveys around The Frenches
Thatch survives on some older buildings in Hampshire’s villages. Older houses in the South East frequently have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Mottisfont Abbey, about 3.1 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around The Frenches. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
If you live in an older home near Church of All Saints, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
The Frenches is about 3 miles west of Romsey, in Hampshire. We cover The Frenches and the rest of Hampshire, as part of our work across London and the South East. Our Hampshire coverage includes The Frenches and the places around it. You can also see our page for Southampton.
Landlord roof surveys in SO51 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you are just outside The Frenches, we cover Shootash (1 mile east), Plaitford Green (2 miles west), West Wellow (2 miles south-west), East Wellow (2 miles south) and Blackhill (3 miles south). Further out, we also cover Winchester (11 miles east), Eastleigh (10 miles east), Andover (15 miles north), Totton (6 miles south-east), Chandler's Ford (8 miles east) and Hedge End (13 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in The Frenches
The Frenches’s nearest station is Mottisfont & Dunbridge station, roughly 2.5 miles north. Well-known places in the area include King Johns House (2.7 miles east) and Romsey Community Hospital (3.4 miles east). The countryside around The Frenches includes Copythorne Common.