Heating oil tank - LL or tenant?

AdrianC

We're in the throes of buying a BtL, with central heating by oil. What would you do about the level of oil in the tank?

I'm tempted to provide the tenants with a full tank, to be left full on move-out, car-rental style.

Thoughts?

foolofbeans

I would have thought it would be up to the tenant to provide their own fuel the same as if you had gas or electric in a property.
Of course the issue could be the fact you have to pay for a tank full in one fell swoop, there is no installment or DD plan.
As I can foresee that putting potential tenants off renting the property it might be easier to say you can put in the contract that you will provide a full tank and expect it to be full when they leave (or it comes out of the deposit) or maybe add an additional fee to include the oil within the rental price.

DaftyDuck

I used to rent out a country property with an oil tank, by far the easiest was an empty oil tank (or minimal-fill) at start, tenant to leave empty (if they wish) at end of contract.

The price of oil varies so dramatically, I had all sorts of problems with tenants pointing out it had only cost me £XX to fill it (two years ago(!) having hunted for best price (!!) and bargained (!!!), and they'd put the same £XX in from the first bloke they'd called... but it was only half full as the price had gone up, and that was fair, wasn't it?

It's also easy for it to "slip their mind" in the rush to empty the property, and then you have to faff about wondering whether to chase for the costs. Given a tank of oil can cost £2,000.... empty, always empty.

lfc321

When we rented a house with an oil tank we paid the previous tenants for the amount of oil that was left in the tank when we moved in. When we left the next tenants paid us for what was left.

I don't recall whether there was anything formal in the contract about it or whether we just did it informally. The landlady lived next door, and that was what she'd always done with that rental house.

It was a fair system and it worked. Whether you could actually enforce it if someone didn't pay I'm not sure.

G_M

DaftyDuck wrote: »

I used to rent out a country property with an oil tank, by far the easiest was an empty oil tank (or minimal-fill) at start, tenant to leave empty (if they wish) at end of contract.

Ridiculous!

It is impossible to judge when & by howmuch tofill the tank in order to have it empty at the date the tenant leaves - especially if the tenant makes an unexpected decision to give their one months notice (when the tank might be half full.)

It is also unhelpful to hand the property over at the start of a tenancy with an empty/near empty tank, to tenants who might have no experience of oil, or how to shop around.

The tank should be measured at start and end of tenancy - yes, I agree it is very hard to measure accurately, but a decent dip-stick, or Watchman gives a good aproximation.

If the tenant leaves more in the tank when they leave, the landlord 'buys' that extra oil at whatever price the tenant paid.

If there is less, then the tenant pays the landlord, at the rate quoted on the date the tenancy ends by the last supplier used.

The above gets written into the tenancy agreement, and readings are made/agreed at check-in and check-out.

DaftyDuck

... Which, in my opinion, is simply more difficult for landlord - and tenant - than tenant sorting it out for themselves. Luckily for me, my tenants were never completely incapable of using the phone to order oil for themselves. There was a list of useful phone numbers left, which included the village oil co-operative and the various local suppliers. Thinking about it... nope, not one tenant failed to shop for oil any more than they failed to shop for milk or bread.... which I also didn't supply!

Werdnal

If the tenant is at liberty to leave the tank empty at the end of the tenancy its asking for trouble. Running the system dry can cause airlocks in the system and drags all the crud that builds up in the bottom and any water contamination in the tank into the system, leading to all sorts of problems!

Depending on the type of valve on the tank, the LL could fill to a pre-determined level at the start and state that the tenants leave it at that level when they go. A full tank is not absolutely necessary, but the level must be agreed and recorded to obtain a like-for-like result at the end - similar to taking meter readings. I would say it is perfectly acceptable to write into the tenancy agreement, that should the tenant fail to provide the oil to the level agreed at the start, then the cost of replenishing it is deducted from the deposit.

Also, if its an old fashioned "sight tube" gauge with a plunger on the side which need to be re-set frequently to release the vacuum and give the correct level reading, ensure the tenants are shown how to do this. It is not unheard of for tenants to think they have atleast half a tank, only to re-set the sight tube and find all the oil mysteriously disappears!

DaftyDuck

Sadly, there's nothing you can do to remove the risk of tenants running the oil down mid-tenancy, either through error, or through trying to run the last drop out while prices are high, chasing that price-drop they expect (and that often occurs after the worst of the cold). Make sure there's a good filter, make sure it - as well as the boiler - is serviced, and explain how the system works obviously helps.

A huge problem with G_M's (to me, at least) "buying" and "selling" the contents of the tank is, at what rate? I'd shop around, use the oil collective, bargain (hence I'm on this site). A tenant might just phone CPS, who were the "local" supplier, and take the oil at a "whatever" price.... then expect me to buy it back at the same price "to be fair"... or, should the tenant buy the oil at the beginning of a tenancy (from LL or previous tenant)... but, what if the previous tenant has left a full tank... that might mean they have to fork out an additional £2,000 at rental start - which might be in April, with them expecting to stay only 6 months.... Or, alternatively, the LL has the potential for chasing up for the "missing" oil or few hundred quid at tenancy end...

I never found (there were only 3 changes of tenancy though) the slightest problem with the tenant sourcing the oil for themselves, and judging (guessing, being lucky/unlucky) the quantity they themselves wanted to buy, and at what price. As far as I remember, all tenancies started (and house sold) with around a quarter(ish) of a tank. The village was supplied about twice a week, and an appeal for "help, I've run out" was supposedly always fitted in by the supplier.

G_M

Mypoint about tenant sourcing the oil was just one objection to the "provide it empty/leave it empty" idea.

And the least important - it just seems more helpful as a LL tosupply somestrating oil,not an empty tank!

Far more relevant is the near-impossibility for a tenant to leave the tank empty at the end of the tenancy. It is almost certain that they will end up mis-judging how much they will need 3...6.. months in advance(when they last order oil) and either run out (causing airlocks etc aswell as a chilly last week or two) or end up leaving more oil than they started with.

Of course, as the landlord, I'm can see you would be only too happy if they left you with more oil than you had originally started them off with! (and suspect if they ran the tank dry you'd charge them via deposit for the engineer call-out fee...?). Win win!

As for the cost per litre to use in any balancing of debt, you could specify whatever you like in the agreement :

* the price would be based on your village collective's price that week
* on a specific supplier you prefer
*or even on the cheapest of, say, 3 named suppliers' prices the week the tenancy ends

Okydoky25

When I moved I to a rental with oil we were told it had 1/4 in the tank. Come the Sat we moved in we found it bone dry. Q us having to ay over the odds and find the £360 to have it delivered. Quickest was Tues so we had to use the Electric also at a higher cost for heating and water.

I would say its fine to have it empty but let them know in advance so they can arrange delivery on move day and to prepare them for the additional cost at an already expensive time.

Yes I did leave it completely empty when we left I made sure of that!

gayleygoo

As a tenant who's moved several times, oil tanks were always empty when we've moved in, and that has suited us fine - it's not difficult to figure out how to phone a company and get it delivered.

If there is oil in the tank and it came from a previous tenant, then it's a bonus that has cost the LL nothing. (The previous tenant could have chosen to siphon out the oil if the really wanted it) In the past four years I have lived in this house, the cost of heating oil has tripled and I wouldn't feel happy to pay the current price of fuel for what was bought back then, if we were to move out and had to pay back the oil to the same level.

It would be very helpful for a LL to supply some starting fuel, even if it's just enough to get them through the first week (since moving house is usually hell anyway), it would be a nice gesture if it were free though yes I know you don't get much for free these days, but it could be a good start in your relationship with the tenant!