Tiles, ridges, flashing, gutters and downpipes: how to spot the faults, word them for the developer and judge the repair.
Roof and gutter defects in a new landed house are usually workmanship faults, not worn-out materials: cracked or badly laid tiles, ridge mortar with gaps, flashing that relies on sealant alone, gutters laid without a fall, open joints, and downpipes that stop short of the drain. Most of them show up in the first heavy rains after you collect the keys. Check from the ground, the ceilings and the roof space at vacant possession, list each item in writing, and send the list to the developer inside the 24-month defect liability period. ClickBina inspects new homes and can carry out the rectification the developer does not cover.
A new roof should shed water all the way from the ridge to the drain. In a new terrace, semi-D or bungalow the faults that stop it doing that tend to be simple and visible once you know where to look: a tile that sits proud of its neighbours, a ridge line with a dark gap under the capping, a strip of sealant where a metal flashing should be tucked into the wall, a gutter that holds a line of water after the rain has stopped, or a downpipe that ends in mid-air above the car porch.
Inside, the signs are stains rather than drips. A brown ring on a ceiling board, a tide mark at the top of a wall below the eaves, or a damp patch on the fascia are often the first evidence. The guide to roofs that leak only in heavy rain explains why a roof can look dry for weeks and then let water in during one storm.
Most new-house roof defects come from the last weeks of a project, when several trades finish on the same roof. Tilers, roofers, plumbers fitting the gutters and the people installing aircon and solar brackets all walk on the tiles, and a tile cracked underfoot is easy to miss from above. Mortar on ridges and hips is laid in heat and can shrink away from the tiles. Flashings at walls and parapets are sometimes finished with sealant because it is quick, and sealant alone does not last in our sun.
Gutters have their own pattern. They are often hung last, by eye, and if the brackets are not set to a steady fall the water ponds instead of running to the outlet. Offcuts, cement and packaging get swept into them during clean-up. Downpipes may be left unconnected because the external drains were built by another team. The gutter and downpipe repair guide notes that an overflowing gutter is often mistaken for a roof leak, which is exactly why the gutters belong on a new-house defect check.
Do not walk on the roof. Tiles crack underfoot and a fall from the first storey is a serious injury. You can still see most of what matters from three places: the ground and the upstairs windows, the ceilings, and the roof space through the access hatch.
| Where | What to look for | Simple owner check |
|---|---|---|
| From the ground | Tiles out of line, broken corners, gaps under ridge capping, flashing loose at walls | Walk all four sides and look along each roof slope and ridge line in good daylight |
| Gutters | Sagging runs, water standing after rain, stains or dark streaks on the fascia below | Look along the gutter from the end; check the wall below for streaks |
| Downpipes | Loose clips, open joints, pipe ending short of the drain or emptying onto a wall or porch | Follow each downpipe from the gutter to the ground |
| Ceilings | Rings, brown patches, sagging boards, mould spots near the eaves | Check every room upstairs with a torch held flat to the ceiling |
| Roof space | Daylight through the roof, wet or stained timber, torn underlay, debris | Look in from the hatch with a strong torch; do not step between the joists |
| Fascia and soffit | Swollen or stained boards, gaps where water can reach the eaves | Look up from below at the eaves line |
If it rains during the week of your handover, go back and look again. Water marks that were not there at the first visit are the strongest evidence you will get. You can tick your defects room by room on ClickBina's checklist tool and add the roof items under the external section.
The roof space tells you things the outside cannot. Open the ceiling hatch, let your eyes adjust, then switch the torch on and off. Points of daylight, a dark tide line on a timber batten or a stain on the underside of the tiles are all worth recording. Note the room below each finding so the developer can trace it. The defect liability period guide lists checking the roof void for daylight or water stains as one of its handover checks for landed property.
Also look for what should not be there: offcuts, cement bags, bits of broken tile and loose wiring left by other trades. Debris on the ceiling boards is a defect in its own right and can hide stains.
Gutter defects are the easiest roof items to prove because you can see them from the ground. Watch the gutters during or just after a heavy shower. Water spilling over the front edge in the middle of a run, a drip at every joint, or a line of water that stays in the gutter once the rain stops all point to installation faults rather than wear. A gutter that overflows in every storm even when clean may be undersized, and that is a design question for the developer, not a cleaning job for you.
Downpipes should carry the water into the drainage system. A downpipe that empties onto the ground next to the wall, onto the car porch slab or into a garden bed will wet the base of the house every time it rains. Record where each one ends. The monsoon roof preparation checklist explains how blocked or poorly fixed rainwater goods turn a light storm into a ceiling stain.
Not every mark on a new roof is a defect, and a defect list full of cosmetic items is easier for a developer to dismiss. The table sorts common findings by what they usually mean. It is qualitative on purpose: there is no published millimetre tolerance for a gutter fall or a ridge gap that a homeowner can measure, so judge by whether the part does its job.
| Finding | Usually | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Water standing in the gutter after the rain stops | Defect | The gutter has no steady fall to the outlet |
| Overflow at the front edge in normal heavy rain | Defect | Blocked outlet, wrong fall or undersized gutter |
| Drips at gutter joints or end caps | Defect | Joint not sealed or not fixed properly |
| Downpipe ending short of the drain | Defect | Roof water is discharged against the house |
| Cracked, chipped or slipped tile | Defect | Water can pass the tile line |
| Open gap or loose mortar under ridge capping | Defect | Wind-driven rain can enter at the ridge |
| Flashing fixed only with sealant | Defect to list | Sealant alone ages quickly in sun and heat |
| Stain on a ceiling board, even if dry | Defect to list | A dry stain still shows water got in once |
| Light dust or a few leaves in a gutter | Normal | Routine cleaning, not a construction fault |
| Slight colour difference between tile batches | Usually cosmetic | Only list it if a tile is also damaged |
Write each item so someone who has never seen your house can find it and understand what is wrong. Give the location, the element, the problem and what you want done. Keep one defect per line and number them.
Send the list in writing and keep a copy. The guide to new house defects and the developer covers how to send it and what to do if nobody responds.
A good repair fixes the cause, not the mark. Before you accept a roof or gutter repair, ask what was done and check it the same way you found the defect.
Ask for the gutter to be tested with water from a hose after the repair, and keep a note of the date. A ceiling that is repainted while the roof above still leaks will stain again.
Roof leaks often return after the first repair because the visible symptom was treated instead of the entry point. If a stain comes back, report it again in writing as a repeat defect and give the date of the earlier repair. The defect liability period guide says an inadequate repair should be documented and reported again in writing, because it is a fresh breach of the developer's obligation.
When the source is not obvious, a leak detection visit can find where water actually enters before anyone opens the roof. The water leak detection guide explains what that visit includes. If the developer still does not act, the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims is the next step for most buyers.
The defect liability period for a new house from a licensed developer is 24 months from vacant possession. Roof and gutter defects tend to appear in the first monsoon, so many owners find their roof items after the first list has already gone in. That is fine: send a further written list each time, inside the period. The defect liability period guide says the developer is typically expected to make good within 30 days of receiving your written notice.
Diarise the end date. A roof check near the end of the period, after at least one wet season, catches the faults that only show in heavy rain.
ClickBina offers a defect inspection service in KL & Selangor. We inspect the house, check the roof from the ceilings and roof space, write a numbered defect list you can send to the developer, and can carry out the rectification for anything the developer does not cover or after the period ends. As an experienced KL & Selangor contractor handling whole-house refurbishment and trade coordination, the same team that finds a roof or gutter fault can fix it.
Where there are signs of a leak, leak detection is a separate visit at RM300 – RM800. For repair work, a site visit to quote is RM150, waived if you go ahead. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and ClickBina is registered with SSM.
Methodology: defect-versus-normal calls in this guide are qualitative. We do not quote tolerances because no homeowner-measurable figure is published for gutter falls or ridge gaps.
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