Who owns the propane tank on a BC property, and what permits does it need?

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Often the propane company that fills it, so ask; any tank in use needs Technical Safety BC's operating permit, and only licensed gas workers may fill, connect or service it. Homes and cabins off the natural gas lines heat, cook and run generators on propane, stored in a tank or in cylinders beside the house. The gas work is regulated under the Safety Standards Act, the tank too once it's in use, and the tank itself often belongs to the company that fills it. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. The code it follows: Propane piping, appliances and tanks follow the B.C. Natural Gas and Propane Code: CSA B149.1, the installation code, and B149.2, the propane storage and handling code, adopted with BC's changes (Gas Safety Regulation s. 30). The distances a tank keeps from the house's doors and windows, the lot line and anything that could light it are in B149.2, a CSA standard that isn't free to read, so we don't quote them: the supplier or a gas fitter sets the tank to them. The tank's operating permit: Technical Safety BC requires whoever owns a propane tank in operation, meaning its pressure is over 15 psig, which any tank holding propane is, to hold an operating permit from it (its Directive D-BP-2015-01, enforced since February 1, 2016). Cylinders as CSA B149.2 defines them and tanks taken out of service for good need none (its propane tank operating permits page). Who may fill or connect it: Filling or emptying a tank, connecting or disconnecting the house's gas system to it, and servicing its valves and relief devices are for qualified people working for a licensed gas contractor or a business with a gas operating permit (Technical Safety BC's page; Gas Safety Regulation ss. 4, 28 (8)). That leaves them outside a homeowner permit (our reading). Gas work in the house: Installing or replacing a propane furnace, water heater, fireplace, range or gas piping needs a gas installation permit and inspections; the owner of a detached house they live in may do it under a homeowner permit, within limits (Gas Safety Regulation ss. 24, 34; see electrical and gas permits). Propane permits are Technical Safety BC's even in the cities that issue their own natural gas permits. A gas fitter tags finished work with their name, certificate number and the date (s. 56). Who owns the tank: Many tanks at BC homes are owned by the propane company that fills them and rented to the owner under a supply agreement, and some are the owner's own; no public record says which (our reading). The agreement can set who may fill the tank, a rental fee, and a charge for removing it or ending early. Selling the house doesn't move the agreement by itself: the buyer opens their own account (our reading). A rented home: The owner of rented premises with gas appliances must post a notice on their safe operation where users can see it, keep them in safe condition and keep records of their servicing (Gas Safety Regulation s. 55). Past work: Technical Safety BC's Permit Lookup Tool shows whether a gas permit exists at an address and whether it is still open. With the owner's written consent and a fee, anyone may ask Technical Safety BC what it holds on an existing gas system (s. 61). What it means for a buyer: Ask who owns the tank, which company fills it and on what agreement, and the last year's use; look for the gas fitter's tags and the permits; and tell your insurer the home runs on propane. A tank in the way of a planned addition is moved by the supplier or a gas fitter, not by the owner.

Who owns the propane tank on a BC property, and what permits does it need?

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Before you buy: who to ask