RICS Building Survey

Lord_Baltimore

Nightmare, I empathise. (https://postimg.org/gallery/pt0cxqys/)

Solicitor would be my first port of call because this wasn't declared and surely, if it is to be worth the paper it is written on, the survey ought to have mentioned the issue? There's so much bum covering in surveys they may as well use the paper for a more useful toiletry function.

troubleinparadise

Being a bit ignorant about these things, but interested; how has the oil leak contaminated your domestic mains water supply?

Is there a problem with the mains water supply pipes too?

Davesnave

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Being a bit ignorant about these things, but interested; how has the oil leak contaminated your domestic mains water supply?

Is there a problem with the mains water supply pipes too?

Oil cannot contaminate a properly functioning mains water supply, but many oil tanks are in the countryside, where wells and boreholes, collecting from near the house, may provide private water.

OP will no doubt clarify. If the source of the water is some distance from the tank, a huge amount of soil might be contaminated and this would be extremely serious.

Chanes

It would be incredible for a surveyor not to notice that and pass the findings or concerns on to you. I'm sorry the insurance didn't pan out for you. You really need a specialist solicitor esp. conveyancing maybe they could give you a rating a successful outcome before you commit large sums in legal costs.

I really am sorry the people who sold you this house, sold you this house. I would find it really hard to believe that they could miss this mess. I know people who have had contaminated land removed (they had a soil sample taken to test the quality and it came back as a hazard! Having said that they have gorgeous gardens now and took the opportunity to do groundworks that really make the house look fantastic)

troubleinparadise

Davesnave wrote: »

Oil cannot contaminate a properly functioning mains water supply, but many oil tanks are in the countryside, where wells and boreholes, collecting from near the house, may provide private water.

OP will no doubt clarify. If the source of the water is some distance from the tank, a huge amount of soil might be contaminated and this would be extremely serious.

Which is precisely what is behind my question - we have a borehole which supplies our water (and several others), but the water is tested annually, and the borehole is quite a distance from (and beneath!) any oil tanks, cess pits, septic tanks etc...but of course, is fed by the water draining through the ground - farm chemicals are our biggest threat (we don't have animal slurry), but oil or other fuel leaks would also be a serious issue.

OP did mention "mains water supply", so I was curious as to whether those pipes have been breached in some way, and need replacing anyway. In our situation, we can change to water board provided mains water if there is an issue with the borehole supply.

Sorry, I have digressed from the OP's question....

kwackerUK

Just to give an update on this.

Anglian water have confirmed the mains water supply is contaminated with heating oil. We have been issued with an order not to drink or cook with it.

The mains water pipe is a PE pipe and this has been damaged by the oil that has been slowly leaking into the soil and down the side of the house.

We have been instructed to get the section of pipe replaced with a barrier pipe and clear the contaminated soil up.

We did originally contact our insurance company and the response we got was we are not covered as the leak occurred before we purchased the property. We then checked this reply with citizen advice, we were told to ring again and ask for the response in writing. Straight away, the insurance company backed down and sent an environmental loss adjuster outto inspect the damage.

The inspector did a great job looking at the contaminated area and checked the building survey results, he clearly stated that the surveyor should have picked this up and flagged it as an issue instead of giving the tank the all clear. We also found a document from the sellers that stated the sellers are not aware of any issues affecting the tank itself.

We are now awaiting a response from our insurance company. By the looks of it, we won't be able to claim off our insurance to replace the mains water supply. This means we will have to try and claim against the sellers insurance as it is clear the seller knew about the oil leak and must have known about the contaminated water.

Also, as the soil around the tank is contaminated and the property sold with it like this, surly the seller is accountable?

If we do get in touch with the sellers, what happens if they deny all knowledge?

I can't do any anything with the tank or the contaminated area as chances are, the sellers insurance company will also send a team out to investigate.

I don't know where I stand with this legally as I can't afford to pay for a new tank as well as clear the contaminated land up and fork out to have a new 30mtr mains water supply fitted.

Chanes

I find it very, very difficult to believe the people selling the property could not have known about this? It was evident in the water as you discovered and they passed this on to you, how hazardous to health was this? Did the water company explain it?

Further to your comment about the insurance saying you are not covered because this leak occurred before you bought it. With the house we bought and within three weeks, a cracked tile on the bathroom floor was noticed, I lifted it to replace it and found the wooden flooring beneath rotten, there was a leak behind the concealed toilet from the flush pipe to the pan. It must have been like that since the bathroom was installed. On the off chance we called the insurance who sent out a loss adjuster, we explained it must have been like that when we bought it but he said we were covered and we had most of the bathroom replaced at a cost of 2.5k. The adjuster said they would cover the damage done but not the repair of the leak. The insurer is Shiela's Wheels and from our phone call to see if we were covered to the money paid out being in our bank was 7 days (I mention this because they were fantastic to deal with)

Given my experience how can you not be covered? You had a surveyor assess the property, you took the reasonable steps before you paid out to buy it, surely they cover the property as it is and not as it was. And wouldn't it be down to them to pursue the claim against the people and their insurer?

I really do feel for you in this situation and I hope it works out for you.

kwackerUK

Chances: Yes the water company explained how bad it is. We have been told to get checked out at the doctors as our 1yr and 7yr old kids have been consuming it from the moment we moved it.

Fell sick knowing I have been giving my kids contaminated water.

Chanes

kwackerUK wrote: »

Fell sick knowing I have been giving my kids contaminated water.

You were not doing that on purpose! Don't add to the troubles you have by giving yourself an undeserved guilt trip!

Davesnave

OK so oil can contaminate a mains supply, if the leak has existed long enough and is in sufficient quantity to rot the plastic pipe.

This proves that a substantial leak existed prior to exchange, which might be useful if you go after the sellers. You only need to prove on the balance of probabilities that they knew of the leak.

Have you anything in writing from those who have inspected the tank since the leak wasspotted?