Homeowners encouraged to check interstate licences to avoid getting stung by 'cowboy roofers'

With tougher licencing laws on various trades still more than a year away in the ACT, a local roof repairer is recommending homeowners check interstate registers to make sure anyone they hire has the necessary qualifications.

Adrian Booth Roofing, based in Erindale, says he receives phone calls “two to three times a week” from people burnt by shoddy work carried out by local “cowboy roofers”.

“I have people ringing me about companies not going back to honour their work, not answering their phones, ghosting them,” he says.

“I’m 10 to 12 weeks booked out with work … because of unlicensed roof repairers.”

He says issues include illegal batten spacing, improper tile laying or water sealing – resulting in leaks – and metal facias and guttering installed “like bloody Meccano sets”.

“And they’re getting the vulnerable – the people who won’t get on their roof to have a look, or people who panic because they have to get their roof done ASAP, otherwise it’s going to blow off.”

Currently, in the ACT, only builders, electricians and plumbers are required to hold trade licences, but this leaves us behind other states like NSW and Victoria.

Prior to the 2024 election, ACT Labor promised to require licences from other trades, including waterproofing, painting and decorating, brick and block laying, carpentry, plastering, tiling, concreting and glazing.

This was said to “give greater choice and protection for the community, enhance community confidence in the building and construction industry … and support training completion rates in these trades”.

But there was no confirmation on whether roofing would be included, and that’s a problem, according to Adrian and others in the industry.

In September last year, Leaky Roof CEO Justin Vetsavong told Region too many Canberra homeowners are being left with “hefty rectification costs” because non-compliant roofers aren’t adhering to building approval regulations.

“Especially in Canberra, where rules aren’t as strict as other parts of the country, homeowners need to be aware of the risks associated with non-compliant roofers,” he said.

Two customers of other roofing companies approached Region under the condition of anonymity to share their stories, too.

One paid more than $4000 to have a section of her dad’s roof repaired after a thunderstorm, only to be left with a “huge leak worse than the original”.

The other paid $10,000 to have her home’s facia boards, guttering and downpipes replaced and ridge-capping repaired. Less than a week later, her husband went up on a ladder to inspect the work, only to find that the paint was already peeling off the new material.

“Now we’re basically looking at replacing absolutely everything,” she said.

Both reported the incidents to Access Canberra, the local enforcer of consumer law on behalf of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and the companies in question agreed to come back and rectify the issues.

“But that’s not something we want to accept. Why would we want the same company back?” one said.

“And it’s not just about more regulation for the sector – we need stronger compliance and enforcement provisions as well.

“It’s very unclear on their websites whether or not they’re actually qualified to do that particular work, and who you can rely on, so it makes it really difficult as a consumer to find the right people.”

This week, the ACT Government told Region the new licencing legislation was expected to come into effect from “next year”.

It didn’t confirm whether roofing would make the cut but also didn’t rule it out, with a spokesperson saying, “Waterproofing is at the top of the list due to the risk of water penetration causing building defects”.

“The ACT Government has commenced scoping work and is exploring higher-risk areas for initial consideration above.”

For now, a roofer’s advice is to make sure whoever you employ for your roofing work at least has a certificate with another state.

“Make sure they’ve got a certification in NSW, for instance, because at least you know they’ve got the qualifications because they don’t just hand it out to anyone,” Adrian says.

Service NSW lists all licenced tradespeople and builders on their website.