UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello all, I am currently in the process of buying my first buy to let, everything has been approved and im at the stage were I just need to sign the paperwork. On Friday my Solicitor told me it might not be a bad idea to take one more look at the property to check on the access to the rear to make sure there was no issues.  I did this and all seemed fine however before I left I got chatting to a couple of the neighbours who informed me that they heard there was a problem with the oil tank and thats why the previous buyers pulled out at the last minute. (the estate agent did tell me about previous buyers walking away at the last minute but told me they didn't know why it happened)

One neighbour said it may be because the tank it placed too close to the house. I did a little googling when I got home and it seems he may be right. As far as I can tell it should be at least 1.8M away from various things including the house, (it actually sits right beside the kitchen window in the back yard) and if this is not possible then a fire shield should be installed which I did not see.

When I applied for the mortgage there was 3 options for getting the property checked out, a basic free option, a more detailed report which cost £200 or a full survey which cost more again. I went with the £200 option and what they posted me out was quite basic however they did note on it that they noticed no key insurance risks.

Id imagine the tank could be moved to the bottom of the yard to give the 1.8m distance, would this be needed for insurance coverage? i've no idea how long the tank has been there. I dont want to walk away from this ideally, but at present ive no idea  if there definitely is an issue, and if so how much it will cost to make right. Should I ring the group that did the check of the property and talk to them? perhaps get my own survey of the property done?

Also worth noting the property is in Northern Ireland, as far as I can tell the law is the same as England and Wales but not 100% sure on this.

I will preface my response by saying I am no expert, but have recently had dealings with replacing an oil tank.

All oil tank installations should comply to OFTEC regulations (see the OFTEC website https://www.oftec.org.uk/ or call them). They should also have local authority planning approval. Happily - if the tank has been installed by an OFTEC approved installer, the local authority certificate will be issued automatically once the tank is installed. The OFTEC rules have changed and morphed over recent years so it may well be that when it was installed the 1.8m rule was not a biggy. However your solicitor should be on this: has a completion certificate been issued? If not why not?

A couple of other things - planning permission is not required for oil tanks less than 3500 litres - so it may be worth checking the capacity of the tank and if necessary, if planning was applied for. Also if the tank is plastic and over 10 years old it will need replacing anyway.

Don't forget that putting up a screen will not be necessarily expensive, and in any case, if there is any doubt about the legalities of installation, any conveyancing solicitor worth their salt will recommend insurance to mitigate any future legal costs to put it right.

In any case, speak to your solicitor and get their advice.

Good luck