Oil tank query

bethl79

Hi, not sure if this should be in this forum or the house selling one but hope someone here can help. We are in the process of buying a house which has oil fired boiler, we have received a service report from the vendors and it has thrown up an issue with the storage of the oil tank. It says the tank needs to be placed on a non combustible surface, and that there is no fire barrier between the tank and the wooden shelter it is housed in.

We are concerned about this as we don't have any spare funds after the purchase costs, so are going to try and negotiate with the vendors to either get the work completed or to pay a little less for the house. Has anyone ever had this issue, or any ideas how much this is likely to cost?

matelodave

The tank was probably installed before some of the new regulations or advice was issued. It doesn't make it unsafe, it just means it doesn't meet the latest specification. And there's a good chance that the enclosure/fencing was put up to hide it and has no bearing on the installation and could be taken down if necessary. Have you checked whether its a bunded tank

Specifications are continually evolving and recommendation change, but that doesn't mean that what you've got is illegal. We don't all go out and get our houses rewired when the regs change, or even rebuild if the insulation isn't up to standard, likewise there's is no requirement to have the oil tank removed/replace or rebuilt because it doesn't comply with the latest regulations. Regulations aren't applied retrospectively - it's just something to bear in mind for when the tank needs replacing

A lot of stuff that gets reported in surveys is for information and you need to identify what's important and what is trivial - I've noticed that there's a lot of trivial stuff that gets highlighted in surveys which is for information or that just shows that the surveyor has done his job (or in some cases hasn't). Surveyors do have a way of making something sound a lot worse than it really is.

Just commenting on whether something doesn't meet the latest regs isn't all that helpful if the context isn't included - ie. did it meet the regs when it was installed and is there any legal requirement for it to be updated to meet the latest regs.

J_B

As a layman, I agree with all the above.

Just curious really - is the tank plastic or metal? If the latter, then it *may* need replacing *sometime soon* in case it has rusted (?) whereas a plastic one *should* be relatively new and better (?)

But, certainly use it as an excuse to barter the price down

bethl79

Thanks for your replies. I should have mentioned it wasn't picked up in the homebuyers report, but was mentioned in a separate servicing report by an Oftec registered technician. The tank is single wall plastic and is 6 years old.

We have asked our solicitors to raise it with the other side, so just have to wait and see now what they come back with.

I do feel more reassured now though that it's not necessarily illegal and may not need hundreds of pounds spending on it!

G_M

An OFTEC engineer, when doing an inspection or service, will always note things like those mentioned by matelodave - things that don't meet current specs. It's his job to mention, but that does not mean anything needs doing.

If/when the tank needs replacing, it will have to conform to the current regulations.