Buying a house with an oil tank
If you’re thinking of buying a new home, particularly in a rural location it may be heated with an oil fired system. As part of your checks before you buy it’s important to find out the condition of the oil tank and pipework. It’s a good idea to have a local competent person to survey the equipment and provide you with a detailed report.
Survey asks
‘Get to know your oil tank’ and ‘regular tank checks’ have some helpful advice on what you should look for
Before you buy the house make sure the survey you commission includes details on:
- How old the tank is – we recommend that tanks over 20 years old should be replaced.
- The tanks state of repair.
- Confirmation of where any underground pipework is, so you can make sure no building alterations you are thinking of will damage the pipe.
- Access arrangements for filling the tank.
- Ensure the tank is compliant with local building control regulations. Even if it isn’t legally required it’s a good idea to have secondary containment around oil storage.
Extra considerations
How will the tank be filled? If the delivery pipe has to pass through your home many delivery companies may refuse to fill the tank.
House insurance
When arranging house insurance, make sure the policy covers loss of oil from a spill, rupture or theft. And most importantly the policy should cover the arrangement and costs of spill clean up which can be considerable.
We have advice if you do have a spill.
