Roofs and flat roofs
The hip iron is missing on a 1930s semi and the lowest hip tile has dropped. What is no longer holding that tile?
Nothing at the foot of the hip is now holding that lowest tile, because the hip iron is missing. On a 1930s semi the hip iron is the metal stay at the bottom of the hip that stops the lowest hip tile sliding down the slope. With the iron gone, that tile has dropped. The survey has seen the missing iron and the dropped tile. It has not checked every other hip tile for a loose bed, and it has not fitted a replacement iron.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Hip tiles are bedded in mortar, and the lowest one is also kept in place by the iron. Mortar can crack and the tile can still sit until the iron is the last thing stopping it. Once the iron is missing and the tile has already dropped, rain can find the open end of the hip, and the mortar above can start to follow. The survey recorded what was missing and what had moved. It did not test the rest of the hip by lifting tiles.
Ask a roofer to refix the lowest hip tile and to reinstate a hip iron, as work this report has not specified in detail. Tell the solicitor the note is a missing iron and a dropped tile, not a decision that the whole roof must be stripped. Do not assume the other hips match this one until they are looked at. The report describes this hip. It has not priced the iron or the tile.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the hip iron missing at the foot of this hip?
- Has the lowest hip tile dropped because that iron is gone?
- Did you leave the rest of the hip untested by lifting tiles?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the dropped tile as no longer held by a hip iron.
- Ask a roofer to reinstate the iron and refix the lowest tile.
- Do not read this as a decision to strip the whole roof.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the ridge mortar looks intact, is the hip iron unnecessary?
No. Ridge mortar is not the iron at the foot of the hip. The lowest hip tile has already dropped, and the stay that should hold it is missing. Sound-looking mortar higher up does not put that tile back. The survey has not said the rest of the ridge has failed, and it has not cleared this foot.
Does one dropped hip tile mean every hip on the semi has failed?
Not on this visit. The note is this hip: the iron is missing and the lowest tile has dropped. Other hips were not given the same finding. They may be fine or they may not, and the survey has not lifted them to say. Deal with the hip that has already lost its iron.