Step 1: Protect the roof today
A half-stripped roof lets water in with the first storm. Photograph every slope, the materials left on site and any open decking, with dates. Then get it tarped or dried in by another roofer, and keep the invoice: it is part of your loss. Tell your home insurer if water has already come in.
Step 2: Read the roofing permit
Search your address on the city portal (the official search for each city). What the status tells you:
- Issued, no final: the job is open. The inspection list shows any inspection that did happen.
- Expired: the permit lapsed without a final. It usually has to be renewed or reactivated before anyone can close it.
- Final: the city signed off. Your dispute is then about the contract (missing flashing, gutters, cleanup), not code.
- No permit: some cities do not require one for every roof. Seattle needs no re-roof permit on one- and two-family homes when the envelope is not changed, and does for repairs over 500 square feet (SDCI, read October 2026). Elsewhere, a re-roof without a permit is a question for the permit office.
Then look up the roofer here. Our firm pages list every roofing permit we hold for the company and the share that reached a final.
| City | Roofing permits | Firms | Reached final | 10th-percentile firm | Firms under 70% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 6,585 | 908 | 97.5% | 92.7% | 0 of 75 |
| Cape Coral | 2,018 | 465 | 98.4% | 98.5% | 0 of 37 |
| Minneapolis | 18,620 | 1,483 | 93.0% | 75.6% | 19 of 351 |
| San Francisco | 9,537 | 1,072 | 87.3% | 62.2% | 20 of 135 |
| Sacramento County | 5,397 | 748 | 88.1% | 78.0% | 7 of 117 |
| Cleveland | 4,923 | 586 | 78.3% | 62.2% | 25 of 97 |
| Saint Paul | 16,928 | 1,322 | 76.2% | 42.5% | 113 of 290 |
The 10th-percentile column is the finished share of the firm one-tenth of the way up from the bottom, among roofers with 10 or more permits. In Saint Paul it is 42.5% and 113 firms finish under 70%, so a low share there is more common than in Miami, where no firm with 10+ permits is under 70%. If your roofer is near the bottom of its city's range, list its other open permits in your complaint.
See every Saint Paul roofer's finished share →
Step 3: Send written notice
Write down what is unfinished, the dates, what you have paid, and a deadline to return. Send it by a method with proof of delivery and keep a copy. Oregon requires a 30-day pre-complaint notice by certified mail before the CCB takes a residential complaint; other states do not require it, but every board will ask what you did to resolve it. Our general guide has the notice rules and small-claims limits by state.
Step 4: The license board, by state
Whether a board can help depends on whether your state licenses roofers at all.
| State | Is the roofer licensed by the state? | Where to complain | Money route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Yes, roofing contractor (DBPR), certified statewide or registered locally | DBPR | Recovery fund, Division II: up to $30,000 per claim for contracts from 1 July 2024, a last resort after civil remedies (F.S. 489.143) |
| Minnesota | Yes, residential roofer license (DLI) | DLI, in writing | Recovery fund up to $100,000 per owner per licensee, after a court judgment against the licensee (Minn. Stat. 326B.89) |
| California | Yes, C-39 Roofing (CSLB) | CSLB, within 4 years of the act | $25,000 license bond, claimed with the surety (CSLB bonds guide) |
| Illinois | Yes, IDFPR roofing license; the number "starts with #104-" | IDFPR | No state fund found; small claims or court |
| Texas | No state roofing license | No board; the city permit office for the permit | Small claims (justice court, $20,000) |
A Florida roofer can be certified (statewide) or registered (one county or city). Check which on DBPR before you hire the second roofer, too.
Step 5: Finishing a partial roof in Florida: the 25% rule
If your Florida roofer stopped partway, how much the next roofer must redo depends on the 25% rule. The Florida Building Code, Existing Building 706.1.1, says not more than 25 percent of the roof area or roof section may be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12-month period unless the entire roof covering of that section is replaced (as quoted by the City of Cedar Key, accessed October 2026). Florida Statutes 553.844(5) carves out roofs built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or later: there, "only the repaired, replaced, or recovered portion is required to be constructed in accordance with the Florida Building Code" (2026 Florida Statutes). An older roof with a large unfinished area may therefore need the whole section replaced. Ask the permit office before you accept a "just finish it" quote.
What the permit file cannot tell you
It shows permits, inspections and license status, not your contract, what you paid, or why the roofer left. Some roofing permits close on paperwork alone (Seattle's affidavit), so a final does not always mean an inspector saw the roof. Our copy updates about monthly; the city portal is the live record.
This page is a guide to official processes and public records, not legal advice.
How we know this
Finished share is the share of roofing permits a year or more old that the city closed with a final; the firm columns use roofing firms with 10 or more permits in each city's three-year window (Cape Coral's starts January 2025; Saint Paul's runs July 2022 to June 2025). License classes, fund caps and the Florida roof rule are quoted from the boards', statutes' and cities' pages under Sources, read 20 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Minneapolis construction permits (CCS); City of Saint Paul approved building permits; City of Miami building permits (since 2014); San Francisco DBI building permits on one- and two-family homes, with the contractor from the city's permit contacts file, data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Can another roofer finish the job?
Usually, but ask the permit office first. The open permit is in the first roofer's name, and the office will tell you whether it must be closed, transferred or replaced before the second roofer pulls one. In Florida, ask too whether the finished area will trigger the 25% rule.
- Do I owe the first roofer anything?
That depends on your contract and your state's lien law, which this page does not cover. Pay nothing more until a lawyer or the board has looked at what was done against what was paid.
- Does the recovery fund cover roofs?
In Florida, roofing is a Division II trade, and the fund pays up to $30,000 per claim for contracts from 1 July 2024. In Minnesota, the fund pays losses from fraud, conversion or failure of performance by a DLI licensee, after a court judgment; check with DLI that your roofer's license type is covered.
- How common is an unfinished roofing permit?
Uncommon in most of our cities. 97.5% of Miami roofing permits a year or more old reached a final, and 93.0% in Minneapolis. Saint Paul is lower at 76.2%, and the firm-to-firm spread there is wide.
- Is this legal advice?
No. It is a guide to official processes and public records. A lawyer licensed in your state can tell you which remedy fits your contract.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Permit vs no permit: what happens if you build or remodel without one, what it costs, and how to get a permit after
- Why is my permit still open? What it means and how to close it
- What's a good completion rate for a contractor? The benchmarks from 12 trades and cities
- Hiring a roofer: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against roofing permits in 28 cities
For one city
- Florida Statutes § 553.844 Windstorm loss mitigation; requirements for roofs (2026) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Roof Permit Information (FBC Existing Building 706.1.1) — City of Cedar Key, FL (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Who needs a roofer license? — Minnesota DLI (2026-10-20)
- Minnesota Statutes § 326B.89 Contractor recovery fund (2025) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund — DBPR (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Florida Statutes § 489.143 Payment from the fund (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Filing a Complaint — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Contractor's License Bonds guide — CSLB (rev. 12/22) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Roofing contractor consumer brochure — IDFPR (2026-10-20)
- Small Claims — Texas State Law Library (updated 2026-10-05; accessed 2026-10-20)
- Re-Roof Permit — Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (accessed 2026-10-20)