Grants and VAT

Grants for a new roof

There's no SEAI grant for replacing a roof covering. The council's Housing Aid for Older People grant can pay towards repairing or replacing a roof, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant covers roof work on a vacant house, and roofing work on a house is at 13.5% VAT (Citizens Information, Sherry FitzGerald, Revenue).

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€9,000 to €14,000a new concrete tile roof on a two-storey semi, incl. VAT (RoofQuote.ie)
€16,000 to €24,000the same house in natural slate (RoofQuote.ie)
3 to 10 daysfor most house roofs, weather allowing (BookMyRoofer.ie)
13.5% VATon roofing work on a house, not 23% (Revenue)

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Older homeowners

Housing Aid for Older People

Run by your county or city council for essential repairs so that a person aged 66 or over can stay living at home. The repairs include repairing or replacing the roof. It's means-tested: up to €10,700 or 100% of the cost, and not available where household income is over €75,000 after disregards (Citizens Information).

Apply to the council before any work starts, and get the roofer's written quote to send with the form.

Vacant houses

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant

For a house that has been vacant for at least 2 years and was built up to and including 2007: up to €50,000, or up to €70,000 if it's derelict, with 20% more on the offshore islands (Donegal County Council). Roof work is on the list of eligible works, and the grant must be approved before any work begins (Sherry FitzGerald). You must live in it or rent it out.

Insulation

SEAI attic insulation grant

SEAI's fixed grants are for insulation, not the roof covering. Attic insulation is €2,000 for a detached house, €1,500 for a semi-detached or end of terrace, €1,400 for a mid-terrace and €1,100 for an apartment (Citizens Information). Your contractor must be SEAI-registered and the grant approved before work starts. A re-roof is a good time to ask about ventilation and the attic insulation together.

Protected structures

Heritage funding

Protected structures can be eligible for council-run heritage funding. Offaly County Council's 2024 declaration for re-slating a protected structure notes the works may form part of a Built Heritage Investment Scheme grant. Ask your council's conservation officer.

VAT

VAT on a new roof

Roofing work on a house is a construction service at the reduced rate of 13.5%, not 23% (Revenue). Some published prices include it and some don't: check every quote says which.

See it first

A new roof on your own photo

Take a photo of the house from the road, pick natural slate, fibre cement slate or concrete tile, and see it finished before anyone quotes. Free, in under a minute.

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Preview of your photo, not a guarantee. Your photo goes to Google's Gemini service to make the picture and isn't kept.

A photo that works

Daylight, from the footpath or the garden.
The whole roof in the shot, ridge to gutter.
Straight on to the front, not up close.
Never go up on the roof to take it.

FAQ

Questions people ask

Is there a grant for a new roof in Ireland?

Not from SEAI for the roof covering. Housing Aid for Older People (66+, means-tested) and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant can both cover roof work.

What VAT rate applies to roof replacement?

13.5% on a house (Revenue).

Can I start the roof and claim the grant after?

No. Each of these grants has to be approved before work starts.

Keep reading

Related guides

Where these numbers come from (5 public sources, checked 3 November 2026)

Sources (3)

Prices and facts on this page were checked against these published pages. We are not connected to these businesses.

Sherry FitzGerald: sherryfitz.ie
RoofQuote.ie: roofquote.ie
BookMyRoofer.ie: bookmyroofer.ie