All industrial and domestic tanks should be installed to comply with Building Regulations and should be installed by a Competent person or signed off by your local Building Control officer. 

Domestic sites - When selling your property you may be asked to put together a Sellers Pack.  Part of this would be a form given to you by your solicitor asking what work you have done to the property whilst you have been in it.  If you say you have installed a new oil tank (or replaced an existing one), they will then ask you for the relevant paperwork.  This would usually be the Building Control notice but alternatively OFTEC approved engineers can sign off their own installations.

New tank installations and replacement of existing tanks should now all be installed as follows:-

Single Family Dwellings with tanks not exceeding 3500 litres capacity

Must be installed on a non combustible base which covers the area beneath the tank and extends 300mm outside the tank on all sides.  Must also be 1.8m away from any building (including a shed, garage or greenhouse) and also 760mm away from a boundary.  (Tanks can be positioned closer to buildings or boundaries as long as the building or boundary would offer the tank a 30 minute fire resistance.  If this is not possible the tanks can be protected by the erection of firewalls.  If the tank is positioned against a wall, their should be no openings within 1.8 meters away from any part of the tank and the top of the tank must be 1.8 meters away from the building eaves.)

Full guidance should be sought from your local Building Control Department as this information is provided as a basic guide only.

For further information or specific enquiries please contact us