porous tiles / leaking roof

Hi all,
We have bought a 1940s era house with a tile roof (not sure whether they are is concrete or terracotta). The roof has been painted at some point (guessing when the stuck a rather ugly 1980s facade on the house) and is looking pretty sad. The big problem however is that we have a number of leaks and on close inspection, the underside of the tiles have water on them after heavy rain.
I'm sure there are cracked tiles and the rest, but my question is, do tiles have a 'life' and will these need to be replaced? Do the roof restorations actually improve how waterproof the individual tiles are? Would this just be a band aid job?
Thanks for your advice.


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