Homes successful England who person chimneys could beryllium slapped with fines of £300 successful February contempt the acold weather.

By Alex Evans, Deputy Audience Editor

08:00, Sun, Feb 2, 2025

UK Housing Secretary Says Country's Housing Model Is 'Broken'

Houses with chimneys successful England look fines (Image: Getty)

Households crossed the UK are being warned they hazard fines of £300 successful February if they usage their chimney.

While each location built earlier the 1990s astir apt has a chimney connected the roof, astir of america won’t person utilized it for decades oregon perchance ever, and the fireplace itself whitethorn good beryllium blocked up and inaccessible.

But millions of radical crossed the state inactive usage their fireplace to heat their location successful the winter, with accepted fuels specified arsenic coal, oregon person a wood burner fitted into the chimney.

Unfortunately, if your chimney starts belching retired smoke, determination are areas of the UK wherever you tin beryllium reported to the section assembly and fined, due to the fact that of a caller regularisation astir Smoke Control Areas.

Smoke Control Areas govern however overmuch fume tin beryllium emitted from your chimney.

Most of England is present covered by Smoke Control areas, and if you unrecorded successful one, you tin beryllium fined £300 if your chimney produces excessively overmuch fume - portion persistent offenders could look transgression charges.

Section 19 of the Clean Air Act 1993 says you indispensable wage £300 if excessively overmuch fume is being released from your chimney.

As Direct Stoves says: “The existent bounds connected the magnitude of fume your chimney tin nutrient successful a Smoke Control Area is 5g per hour, positive 0.5g for each kW of your stove's vigor output. However, determination are plans to trim this bounds to 3g per hour, though erstwhile this volition hap is not yet confirmed.

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“These rules mean that lone immoderate radical with a wood-burning stove oregon unfastened occurrence volition wage a good for utilizing it. Most modern wood burners disposable are DEFRA-approved, truthful galore stove owners bash not request to worry.

“If you privation to upgrade an older wood burner that emits a batch of fume oregon are considering installing a wood burner successful your location for the archetypal time, get an appliance that DEFRA has approved for usage successful Smoke Control Areas. A wood burner with this seal of support is designed and tested to run wrong the restrictions.”