When you hire someone to work on your roof you are not the one climbing, but you are counting on the risk the crew takes. A fall is rarely bad luck: it happens when a protection that could have been put up was missing. This guide says, in plain words, what the law requires of whoever does the work, what you can ask for in the quote, which signs should make you stop the job and who you can complain to. We do not recommend firms.
Updated on 3 November 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The essentials
- Do not climb up yourself. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work says the best way to avoid a fall from a roof is, first of all, not to go up on it.
- Collective protection first. The employer must give priority to guardrails, scaffolding and platforms over the harness (Decreto-Lei n.º 50/2005, article 36, no. 2).
- A ladder is not a safety plan. Working from a ladder is only accepted when safer equipment is not justified.
- Get safety written into the quote.
- A fragile roof is a hazard. Roof sheets and rooflights can break under a person.
Why you should not climb up
The leaflet of the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (ACT, the labour inspectorate) on roof repair says that wet surfaces, broken tiles and strong wind greatly increase the risk of falling. It advises against working alone or on tarpaulins or plastic sheeting, and, where possible, working from the loft. It also says that conditions such as high blood pressure and some medicines add to the risk. After a storm, see the guide to a damaged roof in the first 48 hours.
What the law requires of whoever does the work
We read two texts in the Diário da República: Decreto-Lei n.º 273/2003 (safety on building sites) and Decreto-Lei n.º 50/2005 (equipment used for work at height). The first expressly applies to repair, maintenance and cleaning of buildings and to insulation and waterproofing (article 2). The second places duties on the employer. In short:
- Collective protection before individual (DL 50/2005, art. 36, no. 2). A guardrail protects everyone; a harness protects the person who connects it properly.
- Fall-protection devices when the risk assessment calls for them (art. 37, no. 2). If a guardrail has to be removed during the work, the employer must take other effective measures and put it back as soon as the work ends or stops (art. 37, no. 4).
- Weather: work at height is done only when the weather does not endanger the safety and health of the workers (art. 36, no. 8). Rain, strong wind and a wet roof are reasons to postpone.
- Ladders (art. 38): on stable support, prevented from slipping, and reaching at least 90 centimetres above the level you step onto. The ACT leaflet repeats the 90 centimetres.
- Scaffolding (art. 40): put up and taken down under the direction of a competent person with specific training, and with a plan when the scaffold is complex.
- Rope access (art. 39): only when the risk assessment allows it and no safer equipment is justified; it needs two independent ropes and a harness.
And the owner of the works?
In Decreto-Lei n.º 273/2003 the «dono da obra» (client) is the person on whose behalf the work is done (art. 3), so the home owner who hires. The text we read says:
- Work with a risk of falling from height is a «special risk» when that risk is made particularly worse by the activity, the means or the place (art. 7, point a).
- On works where a safety and health plan is not mandatory, the firm must prepare safety procedure sheets for special-risk work, and may set up the site only once it has them. The client must make sure this is respected (art. 14, no. 4).
- The client appoints a site safety coordinator when two or more firms work on the job (art. 9, no. 2).
- Prior notice of opening the site is only required for large works: more than 30 days with more than 20 workers at the same time, or more than 500 working days in total (art. 15).
In practice, ask the firm for its safety procedure sheets.
Fragile roofs
The European Agency fact sheet (FACTS 49) explains that fibre-cement, fibreglass and plastic tend to become more brittle with age, that tiles may not be a safe base, and that fragile areas such as rooflights are not always visible. On old roofs, those areas must be identified before starting, and roof ladders may be needed.
The ACT leaflet on roof work describes a fatal accident at an industrial warehouse: a worker leaned on a sheet that was being repaired and fell through to the inside. The leaflet points to missing collective protection, no safety plan or procedure sheets, and nobody checking the rules. It was an industrial building, but the question fits your house: what will the crew stand on? If the sheets are old fibre-cement, see the guide to asbestos in the roof.
What the quote should say about safety
For the general list, use the quote checker. On safety, look for:
- How the roof is reached: scaffold, lifting platform or ladder, and who sets it up.
- Fall protection at the eaves: guardrails, netting or something else.
- How people move over tiles, sheets or rooflights.
- Personal equipment: harness with an anchor point, helmet, non-slip footwear.
- Rain and wind: who decides to stop and who pays for the wait.
- Falling materials: how tiles and rubble come down and how the street is protected.
- Is the scaffold in the price? If not, who pays? Compare with the cost of a roof.
Warning signs
- Workers at the eaves with no guardrail, netting or harness.
- A ladder leaning with no fixing, used both as access and as a work platform.
- Work on a wet roof or in strong wind «to finish today».
- Nobody can say where the safety sheets are.
- One person alone on the roof.
- «We have done this for years and nobody has ever fallen.»
If you see this, ask them to stop until there is protection.
Who inspects and where to complain
The ACT inspects working conditions. The gov.pt portal says anyone can file a complaint, including someone who only witnesses the situation, and that anonymity is guaranteed. The ACT portal has a virtual assistant to start a request for inspection. Immediate danger to a person: 112.
Accident, insurance and warranty
Before the work starts, ask for proof of the workers’ accident insurance and the firm’s liability insurance (see the guide to choosing a roofing contractor). Check the firm with the contractor check. For defects and deadlines, see work warranty on a roof. More guides in the roof repair hub.
What we could not confirm
- Whether your home insurance covers an accident to a worker you hired. Read your policy.
- The law on work-accident insurance: we did not read it in this research.
- Later amendments to the two decree-laws. We read the original text. The authority the 2003 text calls the Inspecção-Geral do Trabalho is now the ACT.
- Whether a self-employed worker alone is bound by article 36 of Decreto-Lei n.º 50/2005, which speaks of the «employer».
- The ACT phone number for complaints: we did not find it in an official source.
- The date of the ACT leaflets: the documents do not show it.
Sources (read on 3 November 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 273/2003 of 29 October, Diário da República, series 1-A, no. 251, articles 2, 3, 7, 9, 14 and 15 (original text, read as a PDF copy). In Portuguese.
- Decreto-Lei n.º 50/2005 of 25 February, Diário da República, series 1-A, no. 40, articles 36 to 40 (original text, read as a PDF copy). In Portuguese.
- ACT, Queda em altura: trabalhos em cobertura, Iberian campaign leaflet. In Portuguese.
- ACT, Reparação de telhados após intempéries, leaflet. In Portuguese.
- ACT, Intempéries, como agir. In Portuguese.
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, FACTS 49, Working safely on roofs, 2004 (Portuguese version read).
- gov.pt portal, Fazer uma queixa à ACT. In Portuguese.