Electrics and gas
An oil tank has no bund and serves the boiler. Has the survey pressure-tested the oil line?
No. The survey has not pressure-tested the oil line. The tank has no bund and it serves the boiler, which is a visual note about secondary containment and about what the tank feeds. A bund is a catcher for leaks at the tank. Its absence does not test the pipe between tank and boiler. The line was not pressured, traced under floors or proved tight. The report records an unbunded tank. It has not signed the oil installation off and has not found a leak by test.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Off-mains oil reaches the boiler along a small pipe. Joints, buried lengths and the fire valve can fail without any clue at the tank skin. Pressure testing is how a specialist looks for that. This visit did not do it. No bund means there is no secondary catcher around the tank if the tank itself weeps. That is a separate defect from an untested line. The survey should not be read as having passed either part.
Ask the solicitor for any OFTEC or other installer paperwork, service record and tank note, and check the address. A competent oil engineer can comment on the missing bund and can pressure-test the line if you want that answer. The survey has not booked that test and has not measured a legal distance from the tank to anything else. Do not tell the lender the oil system was tightness-tested on this visit.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the oil line visible along its whole run or only at the tank and the boiler?
- Is there an installer or service record for this tank?
- What test would be needed before the line could be called tight?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell the solicitor the tank has no bund and the line was not pressure-tested.
- Ask a competent oil engineer to assess the tank and test the line.
- Do not describe the oil installation as passed by this visit.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does a missing bund prove the oil line already leaks?
No. The missing bund is about containment at the tank. The line is a different component, and it was not pressure-tested, so the survey has not found a leak and has not cleared the pipe. Absence of a catcher is not a tightness result. Report the two limits separately: no bund was seen, and no pressure test was done.
Has the survey measured a set distance from the tank to the boundary?
No. The survey has not measured a legal set-off and has not invented one. It saw an unbunded tank serving the boiler. Distances to boundaries, water or openings are for a competent installer against the rules that apply, not a figure this visit produced. Do not add a distance the report does not contain.