Value of oil in tank was c£750 now c£2250

Nothavingthat

Moved into a rental in Feb 2020, tank was full, value was c£750 at the going rate. Now the value of a full tank is £2250. If we leave will we be able to pay for the value of the fuel at the initial cost or he prevailing rate?

I am expecting we would be told the prevailing rate although the landlord has only put in £750 worth of oil, therefore only potentially lost £750.

ComicGeek

Are you required to pay for what you have used, or are you required to leave a full tank at the end of the tenancy? 

anselld

What does your tenancy agreement state?
Did you pay to purchase the full tank when you moved in?

Woolsery

Where are you? According to charts for England, heating oil is just over twice the price it was in Feb '20.That's about 45 ppl as against 97ppl  on 2nd September. I bought oil a few weeks ago at 84.5ppl.

theartfullodger

It will depend very very largely on what the tenancy agreement or inventory or other documents state:  Sadly I can't read them from here:

What is stated please?? (EXACT words - leaving out names and addresses)

Stubod

..logically I would expect that you would be expected to leave the tank the same as you found it....ie full?

youth_leader

A good landlord to fill it, I moved into my rental in the snow in February 2020 and the previous tenants left it empty, I had a week without heating waiting for a delivery. 

Interested to see what your tenancy agreement states.

user1977

Stubod said:

..logically I would expect that you would be expected to leave the tank the same as you found it....ie full?

I think the norm for oil tanks is to pay for the difference, rather than arrange a delivery for a possibly fiddly amount.

[Deleted User]

If the principle is to leave the property as you found it, then it is to replenish the tank or to cover the cost of doing so. 

The landlord wont be able to buy the same amount of oil if you only give him 750. Did he enter a contact to subsidise you as energy prices increased.

However what does the contact say?

Rodders53

Woolsery said:

Where are you? According to charts for England, heating oil is just over twice the price it was in Feb '20.That's about 45 ppl as against 97ppl  on 2nd September. I bought oil a few weeks ago at 84.5ppl.

On 10th March 2020 I ordered 1000 litres of Kerosene @ 33.33p/l + 5% vat.  Bedfordshire.  That would be a tad under the £750 figure inc vat for a 2500 litre tank.  But bear in mind one never runs a tank to zero - likely 250-500 litres left even if run down low?

OP really should have been refilling the tank regularly as they used the Kerosene, to avoid a large lump sum to pay and avail themselves of the cheaper prices at the time.  Or have they refilled during the tenancy?

Landlord will have to pay today's prices to refill the tank for the next tenant - so that's the money the Landlord will 'lose'.  Not what he paid to fill it originally!

The minimum 500 litre deliveries make 'topping up' a nearly full tank a problem and a negotiation to agree 'how much' would be needed between Tenant and Landlord... unless covered in any Contract.

Flugelhorn

one of those cases that if you had filled up yourself (rather than the landlord / previous tenant having done it) earlier in the year it would have cost a lot less than having to fill it now.