Oil tank doesn't meet building regulations

Doozergirl

There will be an awful lot in the house that doesn't meet the current regulations, as there will in your current house.  It wouldn't be reasonable to ask for everything to be upgraded. 

You can ask for anything you like, whether or not the vendor are willing to negotiate is another thing.  

trakky14

BikingBud said:

trakky14 said:

Slithery said:

The tank may well already be bunded. It's the shed that it lives in that worries me...

Its not bunded, it's a metal square tank. It's in a wooden shed type structure which fully encloses it. You could technically remove the shed structure but the tank will need replacing and reciting at some point for sure. It's not 1.8m from a wooden structure as it's next to the boundary fence and less than 1.8m from the house itself. The surveyor said it was in good condition so can't say its leaking etc...I suspect we can't do much about it for now.

Yes the boiler is allegedly 3yrs old which is good...but i don't understand how the installer would have agreed to sign it off with that tank and like you say...the delivery drivers must be filling it regardless. I was under the impression it wouldn't meet the building regs to get a certificate etc....if it doesn't do we stand any chance of getting the vendor to do anything? 

Your phrases indicate you are unsure:

• You suspect?
• You are under the impression?
• If it doesn't?

Have you reviewed the building regs and discussed with your surveyor?

https://www.gov.uk/oil-storage-regulations-and-safety/home

"You must meet building regulations if you have a new or replacement oil storage container installed at your home in England, for example to fuel your cooker or central heating."

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468872/ADJ_LOCKED.pdf



It is not obligatory to have a bund, only where the is "significant risk of oil pollution" see conditions Para 5.7.

What do you want the vendor to do?

Replace and resite a tank that may be compliant is quite an ask! 

Yes surveyor confirmed the tank does not meet regulations. Appreciate the vendor probably won't do anything about it but my confusion is over how the new boiler would have been signed off when installed if the tank doesn't meet regs..... when we installed a new boiler at our current house we had to replace our oil tank too as the citing of it meant it wouldn't meet regulations for the system to be signed off as safe.

Will obviously ask for service records etc....the survey only came back yesterday and our solicitors haven't done any enquiries yet as we are early stages.

Thanks for the replies!

Aspiration

Quite familiar with oil tanks..

You're right about distance from house but there are ways around this. One is having a brick wall built around this (don’t know whether single or double skinned) and I was also told that you can install cement sheets around fence or something similar.

Worth calling a couple of companies as they’re pretty good at giving an estimate and talking through without visiting. We were quoted £2500 for a new tank and I think another £500 for the wall around it. 

I think they also install a fire cut off valve for new tanks which the old ones don’t have. 

RAS

trakky14 said:

Yes surveyor confirmed the tank does not meet regulations. Appreciate the vendor probably won't do anything about it but my confusion is over how the new boiler would have been signed off when installed if the tank doesn't meet regs..... when we installed a new boiler at our current house we had to replace our oil tank too as the citing of it meant it wouldn't meet regulations for the system to be signed off as safe.

Will obviously ask for service records etc....the survey only came back yesterday and our solicitors haven't done any enquiries yet as we are early stages.

Thanks for the replies!

Maybe there were additional issues with the tank in your current house?

Maybe you were advised it did not meet current regulations and agreed to replace?

Maybe your installer saw ££££?

Jeepers_Creepers

trakky14 said:

Yes surveyor confirmed the tank does not meet regulations. Appreciate the vendor probably won't do anything about it but my confusion is over how the new boiler would have been signed off when installed if the tank doesn't meet regs..... when we installed a new boiler at our current house we had to replace our oil tank too as the citing of it meant it wouldn't meet regulations for the system to be signed off as safe.

Will obviously ask for service records etc....the survey only came back yesterday and our solicitors haven't done any enquiries yet as we are early stages.

"Yes surveyor confirmed the tank does not meet current regulations." I'm not a betting man, but I'll happily bet a £iver that your electrical system also doesn't meet current regs. And a £enner for your house's insulation level.

"...my confusion is over how the new boiler would have been signed off when installed if the tank doesn't meet regs..... when we installed a new boiler at our current house we had to replace our oil tank too as the citing of it meant it wouldn't meet regulations for the system to be signed off as safe." That's an interesting point, right enough. I guess it'll come down to whether the existing tank was considered 'safe' due to being a steel tank and in seemingly good condition? Whereas the tank at your current house was deemed 'unsafe' for its own particular reasons. It could just as easily have come down to the individual signing it off on the day - one's a bigger pedant.

The important info to come out will be whether the 3-year-old boiler was installed by an accredited outfit (important requirement), and whether it's been serviced since then (no requirement as far as I know).

So, by all means use it to try and negotiate a discount if you like, but have zero expectation.

If you buy the house (good luck :-)  ), then please consider installing some kind of tray or even a cobbled-together receptacle under the steel tank, because they do tend to corrode unseen from inside, and could begin to leak without you being aware for some time.

disney_2

trakky14 said:

Hi all, we've had a survey on a house we wish to purchase and the oil tank doesn't meet current safety regulations (back when it was built in the 80s it did). A new boiler was installed in the house approximately 3yrs ago. We cannot see how it was signed off as meeting regs when the oil tank does not. Obviously this is a question for our solicitor to ask the vendor but do we have any wiggle room on getting that oil tank replaced? It's in good condition but surrounded by a wooden shed which breaks all regulations. Many thanks.

I was wondering what happened with this please? We are looking at a property that appears to have a non compliant oil tank. Its in the garage and is steel. Similar situation with a fairly new boiler having been installed. Will the mortgage lender agree to provide the mortgage if the tank is not compliant and allow us to do the works after completion?