A roof maintenance program is a yearly agreement between a roofing contractor and a property owner: scheduled inspections, usually twice a year in spring and fall plus a check after severe weather, gutter and drain cleaning, small repairs up to a stated allowance, and a written report with photos after every visit, all for a set fee. The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) recommends inspections "at least twice per year, preferably in the spring and fall", with additional inspections after severe weather. To package one, decide what a visit includes, what the fee covers beyond it, and how the agreement renews and ends. Below is a program template with a steep-slope checklist and a report form, and a short section for anyone running a roofing business in Germany.
This isn't legal advice. The regulatory quote comes from the eCFR, retrieved in November 2026. For the bigger picture of what an AI employee can draft in a roofing office, see AI for Roofers: Estimates, Storms, Inbox.
What homeowners ask before they sign up
The top result for this search is a homeowner on Reddit asking whether an annual fee for a roofing maintenance plan is a good deal. Your program has to answer that on one page. A homeowner can't judge your workmanship in advance, but they can judge four things: what you check, what they get in writing, which repairs are included, and how they get out. The other results are mostly commercial roofing companies and a university facilities department with a program for its own buildings.
NRCA's own argument for maintenance fits on a sales sheet. Regular inspections "help identify problems early when they can be corrected relatively easily", an established program means "response time to address emergencies is reduced", and ongoing maintenance "allows for a planned approach to future roofing-related expenses". Those three points, early fixes, faster response, predictable costs, are what the fee buys.
Roof maintenance program template
Copy this into your own file next to your quote template, replace every bracket and strike what doesn't apply. It's written for a residential steep-slope roof; for commercial low-slope roofs, add the low-slope lines and more visits.
[Your company, address, license no. if required, contact]
ROOF MAINTENANCE PROGRAM AGREEMENT No. [RM-001]
Between [Your company] ("Contractor")
and [Owner name, address] ("Owner")
1. PROPERTY AND ROOF
Address: [Street, city, state]
Roof: [steep-slope / low-slope], approx. [size]
squares, [material], installed [year]
Equipment: [skylights, chimney, vents, solar,
satellite dish, snow guards]
Drainage: [gutters approx. [length] ft, downspouts
[number], drains, scuppers]
Access: [ladder, roof hatch, lift]
Condition at start: see baseline report dated [date].
2. WHAT EACH VISIT INCLUDES
(a) Inspection per Schedule A of all areas that can be
reached safely.
(b) Gutter and downspout cleaning.
(c) A written report with photos per Schedule B within
[7] days.
(d) [Basic plan: no repairs included. Findings are quoted
separately.]
[Plus plan: minor repairs up to [number] minutes of
labor and $[amount] in materials per visit, e.g.
replacing a few shingles, resealing a flashing,
refastening a gutter hanger.]
3. VISIT SCHEDULE
(a) [Two] visits per year, in [April/May] and
[October/November].
(b) Contractor proposes each date in writing at least
[two] weeks ahead and reschedules for rain, ice,
snow or high wind.
(c) Storm check: after a severe weather event, Owner may
request a visual inspection. Program members are
scheduled ahead of non-members. [A response time
applies only if stated here: [number] business days.]
[One storm check per year is included. / Storm checks
are billed at the rates in section 5(c).]
4. EXCLUSIONS
Not included: repairs beyond 2(d); replacement or
re-roofing; storm damage repairs; interior damage;
electrical work on solar systems; insurance claim
assessments. Contractor performs such work only on a
separate written estimate.
5. PRICE AND PAYMENT
(a) Annual fee: $[amount], billed [annually / per visit].
(b) Due within [15] days of invoice.
(c) Additional work: $[rate] per hour plus materials,
quoted before work starts.
(d) Contractor may propose a new fee in writing at least
[30] days before renewal. [State how Owner accepts
or declines.]
6. TERM, RENEWAL AND CANCELLATION
(a) Term: [12] months from [date].
(b) Renewal: [renews for another 12 months unless either
party cancels in writing [30] days before the end of
the term / does not renew automatically].
(c) Contractor sends a renewal reminder with the fee
[30-60] days before renewal.
(d) Owner may cancel by [email or letter to address].
[Check your state's automatic renewal and home
solicitation rules before using this section.]
7. WARRANTY AND LIABILITY
(a) Repairs carry [workmanship warranty terms].
(b) This program does not change the roofing
manufacturer's warranty. Owner keeps that warranty
and its maintenance requirements.
(c) [Limitation of liability: have it reviewed under your
state's law before adding it.]
Signatures and dates: ____________ ____________
Contractor Owner
SCHEDULE A: INSPECTION CHECKLIST, STEEP-SLOPE
[ ] Roof surface: missing, cracked, curled or loose
shingles; granule loss; exposed fasteners
[ ] Ridge, hips, rakes and eaves: fastening and
wind resistance
[ ] Flashing at chimneys, walls, skylights, dormers:
lifted metal, failed sealant
[ ] Penetrations: vents, pipes, satellite dish and solar
mounts properly flashed
[ ] Chimney cap and crown
[ ] Gutters, downspouts, hangers, slope; debris removed
[ ] Valleys and roof-to-wall transitions: debris, wear
[ ] Attic (if accessible): stains, daylight, ventilation
[ ] Overall condition, photos, report
[Low-slope add-on: clear drains and scuppers; inspect
membrane field, seams, flashings and parapets; remove
vegetation; check for ponding.]
SCHEDULE B: VISIT REPORT
Date: [ ] Reason: [scheduled / after storm on [date]]
No. | Area | Finding | Photo | Recommendation | Urgency
| | | | | [now /
| | | | | next
| | | | | season /
| | | | | monitor]
Minor repairs done: [ ]
Next visit: [month, year]
Inspection schedule: twice a year and after storms
NRCA's guidance is the default for the schedule: inspections at least twice a year, preferably in spring and fall, because asphalt shingles take the most wear in freezing temperatures and in the most intense sun and heat. A spring visit finds what winter did, a fall visit prepares the roof for the next season. NRCA also suggests extra inspections "after any severe weather event such as a hailstorm or hurricane", before and after other work on or near the roof, and after other damage to homes in the area.
The storm clause is where programs promise too much. After a hailstorm, every customer calls at once, and whatever you promise members has to hold for all of them at the same time. The template only says members are scheduled ahead of non-members; a hard response time goes in only if you can meet it. Keep the storm check and the storm repair apart: the check is part of the program, the repair is a separate job. Your report records the date and what you found; whether a claim gets paid is between the owner and the insurer.
Pricing tiers that make sense
Most programs work with two or three tiers. A basic tier covers the scheduled inspections, gutter cleaning and the report. A plus tier adds minor repairs up to an allowance, set as both labor minutes and a material amount so the third visit doesn't turn into a free ridge repair. For commercial roofs, the fee usually follows roof size and number of visits, and the plan covers drains, membrane seams and rooftop units.
Price the access, not just the area: a ranch house with an easy pitch is quicker to inspect than a three-story house that needs a lift, so put the lift into the fee or on a separate line. How to keep plan prices in a services list is in Automating Quotes in the Trades.
Warranty and roof history
Two NRCA points are worth putting into your sales conversation. First, equipment added after installation, such as satellite dishes, solar systems or cable connections, often isn't properly flashed, and "incorrect or substandard work of this type can damage a roof system or invalidate a roof system warranty". Your inspection catches those additions. Second, NRCA recommends that homeowners "start and maintain a historical record" of their roof, beginning at installation, with later inspections and repairs recorded. Your visit reports are exactly that record. Section 7(b) in the template makes clear that your program doesn't replace or change the manufacturer's warranty.
Renewal, cancellation and the three-day rule
If you sell the program at the customer's home, check the FTC Cooling-Off Rule. It covers sales made at the buyer's residence with a purchase price of $25 or more, and the contract must tell the buyer they may cancel "at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction", with a notice of cancellation form attached. Some sales are excluded, but the exclusion for a repair visit the buyer asked for covers only repairs to the buyer's personal property, and selling additional services during such a visit, such as a maintenance program, is expressly not covered by it. Read the rule for your situation. Automatic renewal and cancellation rules for consumer contracts differ from state to state, which is why the template leaves section 6 open for your state's rules and sends a renewal reminder either way.
If you run a roofing business in Germany
A German "Wartungsvertrag" for roofs covers the same ground with tighter rules for private customers. A standard contract may not bind a consumer for more than two years at first, may only renew tacitly for an indefinite period with a cancellation right at one month's notice, and may not require more than one month's notice before the end of the first term (Section 309 no. 9 BGB). Signed at the customer's home, it comes with a 14-day right of withdrawal (Sections 312b, 312g and 355 BGB). The German roofing association ZVDH runs a two-tier inspection program for guild members, and the insurers' association GDV's non-binding model terms for homeowner insurance require owners to keep roofs "in ordnungsgemäßem Zustand", in good condition. The German version of this article has a full German template; use the language switch at the top of the page.
What an AI employee drafts for a maintenance program
For proposals I have Anton. He runs in my own business: he turns an initial conversation into an offer PDF and, once a client says yes, creates the contact, offer and invoice as drafts in my accounting tool. His page names maintenance contracts explicitly. For a roofing company, you describe the workflow to him once: roof type, size, access and tier in, a draft agreement from your building blocks out, with the fee from your price list. Without a price source, he sets no price. Peter matches the payments against your invoices and prepares the payment reminders.
For the inbox I have Frieda. She also runs in my business, sorts the inbox into Now, Today, Can wait and Trash, plus a fifth pile for cases that need my judgment, and drafts replies. She has never sent anything on her own. You define which senders matter and which topics rise immediately. After a storm, that means, for example: members with water inside go to Now, members reporting a possible problem go to Today with a draft reply asking for photos, and anything that sounds like a dispute about your work lands in the fifth pile for you. The pile system without AI is in Sorting Your Inbox: The Pile System.
What stays with you: the clauses, the scope, the fee, every promise after a storm and the signature. How you put that into practice in your business is something we can look at together. Before customer data runs through an AI service, read AI and Privacy: What the AI Gets to See. If a repair estimate from an inspection sits unanswered, How to Follow Up on a Quote by Email helps. For HVAC contractors, the same idea is covered in HVAC Service Agreement Template: What Goes In. Which roofing software tracks maintenance visits is in Roofing Software Compared: Plans and Prices. A good moment to offer the program is the final walkthrough after a reroof: Construction Punch List: Template, Sign-Off.
Frequently asked questions
What is a roof maintenance program?
An agreement under which a roofing contractor inspects a roof on a schedule, usually twice a year and after severe weather, cleans gutters, handles minor repairs within an allowance and documents every visit in a report, for a set annual or per-visit fee.
How often should a roof be inspected?
NRCA recommends at least twice a year, preferably in spring and fall, plus additional inspections after severe weather such as hail or hurricanes.
Is a roof maintenance plan worth it for a homeowner?
It's worth it when the plan says exactly what's checked, which repairs are included, what the report contains and how to cancel.
What should a roof maintenance contract exclude?
Re-roofing, repairs beyond the stated allowance, storm damage repairs, interior damage, electrical work on solar systems and any assessment of insurance claims.
How to keep going
Take your current maintenance offer and lay it next to the template: is there a checklist, a report, a repair cap, a storm clause and a clear way to cancel? If you want to see which office work in your business an AI employee can prepare, book a strategy session: in 20 minutes we look at the one workflow in your business that depends on you the most. The Bottleneck Check shows the same in about five minutes on your own. More industries are on AI by Industry.
