A roof leak in Los Angeles: stop the water, check the roofer, and read the estimate

1. If you smell gas, touch no switches, phones or anything electrical. Leave, and from outside call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 or 911. Do not turn the gas back on yourself; SoCalGas does that.
2. Cut power to the wet rooms at the breaker panel, the metal box of switches in the garage, a hallway or on an outside wall. Do this only if the panel is dry and you are not standing in water. If water comes through a light fixture or fan, nobody stands under it.
3. Stay off the roof; wet tile and old shingles break underfoot. Catch the water in a bucket, and if the ceiling sags, keep everyone out from under it.
4. Photograph the ceiling, the roof from the ground and everything wet, and note the date, before anything is moved or cleaned. Then move furniture and electronics out from under the leak.
5. Have a roofer tarp the roof; do not go up yourself, and do not wait for the adjuster, your insurer's inspector. The California Department of Insurance says your insurer reimburses reasonable protection costs when you keep receipts. It adds that a policy may not cover later damage if you did not take reasonable steps.
6. Hold extensive permanent repairs until the adjuster has assessed the damage.

Call a roofing contractor first; roofing is the C-39 classification, the license class, at the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Flashing is the metal that seals the roof at a chimney, wall or pipe. CSLB's roofing guide says a leak from one weathered section, or from badly installed flashing, does not by itself mean a new roof. Ask for photos and a written list of the work.

Call your insurer second if the leak followed wind, hail or a fallen tree. For a slow leak from an old roof, read the policy first.

Call a water damage restoration company third if ceilings, walls or insulation are soaked. The EPA says to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.

The permit last, applied for by whoever the contract names.

At cslb.ca.gov, open Check a License and search by license number, business name or a person's name.

The record shows whether the license is current and active, and the bond, a fund that can pay a homeowner the contractor wrongs. It shows whether a workers' compensation policy or an exemption, a filing that it has no employees, is on file. It also shows citations, complaints CSLB has referred for legal action or serious investigation, and civil judgments.

Expect C-39 and a workers' compensation policy, not an exemption. Ask for the pocket license (the wallet card CSLB issues) and photo ID, and check that the person is named on the record.

By law the contract must show:

• The contractor's name, business address, email address and license number.
• A description of the work and the significant materials.
• The price, and approximate start and completion dates.
• The down payment, if one is charged.
• Any progress payments due before the job is finished, each tied to specific work.

CSLB also advises writing in who applies for the permit and any warranty.

Red flags CSLB warns about, any one a reason to stop:

• The license number belongs to a different name.
• Cash only, no written contract, or a down payment above $1,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less.
• Pressure to decide now, or scare findings after a free inspection.
• A door-to-door offer or flier, no local address, or a bid far below the others.
• A stranger who was driving by and noticed loose shingles.

1. Report the loss with the date, cause and what is wet. Keep a diary of every call, with photos, receipts and the roofer's report.
2. Walk the house with the adjuster. If something is called excluded, ask the adjuster to point out the policy wording that says so, and get at least one licensed contractor's estimate to compare.
3. A patch can leave new shingles or tiles that do not match the rest. If so, California's insurance regulations require the insurer to replace all items in the damaged area for a reasonably uniform appearance.
4. Replacement cost is the cost to repair or replace the roof today; actual cash value is that cost less depreciation, a deduction for age and wear. Depreciation applies to the roof covering, but under the regulations the labor to tear off the old roof and install the new one cannot be depreciated.
5. A replacement cost policy pays actual cash value first and the balance once the work is done. State law gives you at least 12 months from the first payment to collect it.
6. Choose your own contractor.
7. Ask for the insurer's written estimate; the regulations require it to give you a copy of each document the settlement is based on. If your roofer's written estimate is higher than the insurer's, the regulations give the insurer three choices. It can pay the difference, name, if you ask, a contractor who will do the work for its figure, or reasonably adjust your roofer's estimate and send you the copy.
8. State regulations set deadlines. The insurer must acknowledge your claim within 15 days of notice. It must accept or deny the claim within 40 days of receiving your proof of claim, the documents backing it. It can take longer only if, within that time, it writes to say what it still needs and why, with an update every 30 days. It must pay any accepted part within 30 days. A denial must be in writing, state the reasons and policy terms relied on, and say that the California Department of Insurance can review it.
9. If the claim stalls, raise it with the insurer's claims manager and send a letter, with copies of your documents, to the claims executive at the insurer's headquarters. Then call the California Department of Insurance at 1-800-927-4357 or file a Request for Assistance at insurance.ca.gov.

A repair estimate is shorter but still names the leak, the fix, the materials and the license number.

Quantities. A square is 100 square feet of roof. The estimate states the squares, whether the old roof comes off (a tear-off) or stays, and how many layers are up now. Rotten sheathing, the boards under the shingles, shows only after tear-off and is priced per sheet as an allowance, a budget outside the fixed price.

Layers and details. Underlayment, the water barrier sheet under the shingles, by product and layers, and flashing, new or reused, at chimneys, walls, pipes and skylights.

Older homes. In a home built before about 1980, and sometimes later, roofing felts, mastics (roof sealants) and some shingles and tiles can contain asbestos. So can a plaster or acoustic (popcorn) ceiling a leak brings down. Paint from before 1978 can be lead paint. Before any tear-off or ceiling work, ask how those materials will be tested and handled, and get it in the estimate.

The covering. The City of Los Angeles requires every roof covering to be fire-retardant, and a Class A covering, the highest fire rating, in its Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Since January 1, 2026 the state's Wildland-Urban Interface Code also requires a Class A roof assembly in High and Very High zones. Check the State Fire Marshal's map for your address. In the City of Los Angeles, replacing more than half a home's roof also requires a cool roof product, a reflective covering rated by the Cool Roof Rating Council.

Money. Any change to price or work needs a change order signed by both sides first. After the capped down payment, payments cannot exceed the value of work performed or materials delivered.

Preliminary notices. A preliminary notice is a letter from a subcontractor or supplier on your job. It says they can record a mechanics lien, a legal claim against your home, if they are not paid, even if you paid your contractor in full. Keep each one. Before each payment get a conditional lien release (a signed waiver effective when your payment clears) from each sender, and an unconditional release after.

• What is your license number, and is the name on the record the name on this contract?
• Is this a tear-off or an overlay (new shingles over the old), and how many layers are up now?
• Will you test for asbestos or lead paint before tear-off, and provide lien releases from every subcontractor and supplier?