Can a garage be left with its roof off?

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I have a single, detached garage. It has had nothing done to it since it was built in the 1960s. Its walls are a single skin of brick. It has a flat roof that is covered in bitumen felt. Over recent years the felt has badly deteriorated and the rain has thus soaked into the wood-plank decking and beams that support it and has started to rot them (one beam felt slightly soft; it rained yesterday). I'm not working at the moment and finding it difficult to get a job and so can't get a loan; I have little in the way of savings. I could maybe just afford a new roof (not entirely sure how much it would likely cost though) but I was wondering if it would be safe to have the roof removed and just leave the garage roofless. I'm concerned that the walls would not then be sufficiently supported; one wall runs along the property boundary of a neighbour's drive, and another wall runs along the property boundary of another neighbour's back garden, so any risk would involve personal injury to, and property damage of, others if the walls collapsed, or blew over in a strong wind. Maybe there's a way of bracing the walls to fully compensate for the lack of a roof. I'd rather not the garage be demolished; no idea how much that would cost, and, although I guess I could sledgehammer it down myself as a DIY thing, I'd like to think I would have the money to have a new roof put on in the future (it would at least help maintain the value of my overall home). I have contacted a local, highly respected roofing company to come out and properly tarp the roof (how much should I expect to pay for that?) and advise on options and their costs but I could do with some advice here. Thanks in advance. :)View attachment 336753

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buy a roll of DPM and some battens, put the DPM over the roof then fix it down all the way around with the battens

that will keep it completely dry for quite a while -I did it on a garden office I was building and it kept if totally dry for at least a year
 
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