From 2022, it will no longer be possible to install oil-fired boilers in new buildings. The ban will also apply to the replacement of existing boilers with this type of heating. This is in line with the government's intention to phase out all individual oil-fired heating systems in France over the next ten years.
As a result, the question of what to do with storage tanks is going to come up more and more often.
To avoid the risk of fire and soil pollution in the event of a leak, the legislator has introduced a number of measures.
Article 28 of the decree of 1 July 2004 stipulates that any (permanent or temporary) abandonment of a tank must be subject to measures to avoid any risk of vapour formation. To achieve this, an abandoned buried tank must be emptied and filled with inert materials. The law therefore requires the following measures to be taken:
- draining, degassing and cleaning
- filling the tank (the product used for neutralisation must cover the entire surface of the inner wall of the tank)
- or removal of the tank.
The company that carries out this work will provide the user with a certificate guaranteeing that the above-mentioned inerting operations have been carried out correctly.
If the tank is abandoned as a result of modifications to the heating system, it is the responsibility of the company carrying out the work to comply with these provisions.
Although the law does not provide for any penalties, it does require the owner to neutralise the tank as soon as it is taken out of service.
In the event of the sale of a property with an unused tank, the seller must prove to the buyer that the tank has been emptied, degassed, filled or removed. The company that neutralised the tank must produce such a document to guarantee that there is no risk to people or the environment.
If the tank is sold without being neutralised
If the oil tank has not been neutralised, the buyer may, as part of a free negotiation, pay for the neutralisation work. In this case, the vendor must inform the purchaser in the preliminary contract, specifying that there is an oil tank of such and such a capacity, and that it has not been used since such and such a date, without having been neutralised in accordance with the conditions set out in article 28 of the decree of 1 July 2004.
If the buyer is not provided with this information, he or she may ask for the sale to be rescinded or for damages if it turns out that there is soil pollution making the property unfit for its intended use and that the seller has deliberately concealed this information.
It should be remembered that sales contracts drawn up by notaries generally exclude the warranty for hidden defects if the seller is acting in good faith. Furthermore, under the terms of article 1642 of the French Civil Code, the seller is not liable for defects that are apparent and of which the buyer has been able to convince himself.
The buyer is therefore not exempt from his obligation to inform himself as soon as the vat is visible. This is why case law regularly punishes the victim's culpable ignorance, considering the error inexcusable.
To avoid any future problems, you should therefore raise the issue of the oil tank as soon as possible.
