Will we get fined for oil tank?

[Beingseenisneedy]

Hi, we're in Scotland and builder has put our oil tank in a wrong place, not on a slab or concrete base and with no planning permission.

It's wedged too close to back lf neighbour's shed and our own wooden shed.

FTB, which isn't a defence but as all the neighbours have tanks, one actually a wrongly installed one too, we didn't realise it would be an issue.

He's an experienced builder recommended by a colleague and yet somehow left out all this important bit.

Have read than if not reported for 4 years, it will then not be an issue, but we're both worriers and would always be on edge, so not an option to ignore.

Builder yet to finish other jobs, which he's also botched and want him out ASAP and get someone else to rectify tank situation as relations already at a low.

Issue now is the costs as can't afford to move it and apply for planning.

Would the council fine us for not getting planning first?

YABU - Apply for retrospective planning now, move it later.

YANBU - Get it moved first and then apply for planning.

If this has just been done then surely the builder needs to fix it

Talk to him and see what he says

Else you will have to go to court

If you go to court you will probably win if this is something that has just been done

This needs sorting, regulations are there for a reason and it's not because they want to make Extra work and cost for everyone

What’s it on? is it resting straight on the ground? Without a base it will settle, damage the ground, maybe weaken the structure of the tank, misalign the pipe work and there is less buffer to environmental harm if there is a leak.

Is it at least bundled?

If it leaks for any reason (ours did during a fire) you may not be insured. Our insurance company had to pay to remove and replace all contaminated soil from our garden and our neighbours and it cost a fortune

If it’s not on concrete then if it leaks you could have a big problem. You need to get the builder back to fix it and do it properly.

It's on gravel, which doesn't even look even.

We're at a point where just him finishing what's left to do in the house will be a huge achievement.

Adding this on will make him spiral and go off in a huff.

He's been doing a pretty straightforward job in the house but has clearly overbooked himself and it's taking way too long.

Eek, that's scary. The good thing in some sense is the leak would probably not stretch too much. It's a detached and neighbours on the side have raised ground than us and the one that backs onto us has the brick wall facing the tank.

Thank you. He'd said he'd put it on slabs then obviously didn't and as we had no clue, didn't challenge it.

I am assuming you have one of those 1000 litres plastic oil tanks that seem the norm in our village?

In the event of a fire they will burn an leak like chuff, I am not sure why you think that amount of burning fuel wouldn't stretch too much.

Get him to do it properly as you are paying for and get legal advice.

It's actually bigger than that.
Thought it meant just the oil leaking, not an actual fire. Yes, that's scary.

He's barely answering calls as it is and haven't heard from him for a week.

Just want him to finish the house as can't trust him to rectify the tank without more issues.

If it's a green plastic tank it's probably double skinned so doesn't need a seperate bund. It does need to be on a solid surface which must extend beyond the tank and there are rules about how close it can be to a boundary. The good news is unless it's absolutely massive it doesn't need planning permission. It does need a lock or some scrote will be round to nick your oil.

Not sure if different in Scotland (I'm in England) but if your works need Building Regs signoff you probably won't get it if the tank is not properly sited (too close to structures/boundary etc).

We had our oil tank replaced recently and had to use a specialist company as general builders/plumbers wouldn't do it. Ours also had to be relocated as building regs had changed since the old one was put in - they built a massive slab plinth to put it on.

A friend had a slow leak in their tank and it affected an underground water course. The environment agency got involved and there were potentially thousands of pounds of fines to be paid. You cannot ignore this.

I can completely empathise with just wanting to be shot of a tiresome and ineffective tradesperson. HOWEVER, in the long run, you’ll be far better off if you just bear with it a bit longer and get this rectified now. She says, looking at the wonky paving slabs she didn’t think would be that bad.

It’s definitely a health and safety issue. Read up on the regs and show the builder (maybe once the house is livable?). You might need to take him to a small claims court so read up on that too but if it was me I’d be tempted to get the house finished(ish) before escalating. But definitely don’t sign it off and there’s no point applying for pp if it breaks the safety regs.

Our tank leaked involved an insurance claim of 50k.

Insurers told us horror story of oil leak going under neighbour’s tank. Owner had to sell house to compensated them (oil got under the structure).

If in wrong place your insurer could say policy invalid. Don’t take the risk

You need an OFTEC registered installer. Look at the regs yourself so you know how it should be installed - specific distance from anything that could catch fire (fences, sheds, plants) and the kind of base required. Far worse than a fine for poor installation would be an oil leak - that would cost many thousands to rectify.

Your biggest concern will probably be getting an oil delivery into it. We had a tank that was leaning on a fence post and eventually the oil delivery company refused to deliver oil as they could be fined if it leaked (that finally got the landlord to move it).

Here's a useful link to oil tank registration:
https://www.ukbundedfueltanks.co.uk/domestic-fuel-tanks/

Good point about oil deliveries. We had an old oil tank condemned by a delivery driver (it wasn't actually leaking yet, but was dangerously rusted). They are under an obligation to report issues to the Environment Agency. Also every time we have our boiler serviced, part of the service includes inspection of the (new!) oil tank. I don't know whether heating engineers are similarly obliged to report issues?

In addition to environmental and fire concerns, if it looks uneven now, once filled it will sink - and I suspect your oil delivery driver will refuse to fill it and potentially report it.

if you ever want to sell your house, you’ll need to get it fixed as a survey would pick up the incorrect installation.

First oil delivery has gone in and they didn't flag it, although we weren't at the house, so not sure if they did and builder hid the paperwork/didn't tell us.

There are very clear legal requirements about the type of base that the tank must be on. It has to be concrete or hardcore with paving slabs on, of a certain thickness. If he hasn't met those requirements, then he needs to rectify it. Do not pay him until he has done it properly. He shouldn't be installing oil tanks if he doesn't know the regs. You do need to deal with this and deal with him, you can't just let him walk all over you.

The oil companies will refuse delivery to unsafe tanks, so if it moves over time, you will have problems.

Why did you get an oil delivery now if you think the tank needs to be moved? it should have remained empty until he resolved the problem.

Oil will go in to the ground, so a wall and raised ground won’t stop this. Concrete acts as a barrier which is why the need to be on slabs, if it’s on gravel or soil then you’re in trouble if it leaks. Even leaks during filling can be a big problem if not on concrete.

There are companies that just do oil tank installations, I'd contact one of them. It's likely to be relatively straightforward to get a compliant base built in the right place. They then drain the tank, move it, and refill it.