Method and retainer element for roof covering

Retainer element (1) for fixing one or more plate-like building elements (20, 20', 20") to a carrier structure (21), the retainer element (1) comprising a holder part (2) and a support part (3) which engage each other, the holder part (2) being provided to hold one or more plate-like building elements and the support part (3) being provided to be fixed to the carrier structure (21), an orthogonal system being defined by three orthogonal axes intersecting each other perpendicularly in an origin, a first orthogonal axis being formed by a longitudinal axis according to the longitudinal direction of the retainer element and the two other orthogonal axes being formed by a height axis according to the height direction and a transverse axis according to the transverse direction of the retainer element, the holder part (2) being slidable with respect to the support part (3) along the longitudinal axis and being rotatable with respect to the support part (3) about the longitudinal axis, the holder part (2) and the support part (3) engaging each other by means of a joint which is located in the origin of the orthogonal system and which enables a rotation of the holder part (2) with respect to the support part (3) about each of both the other orthogonal axes.