UK households with a fireplace face £1,000 fines this winter

Households across the UK are being told they could face fines of up to £1,000 for making a mistake with their fireplace this winter.

A lot of new build houses constructed since the turn of the century don’t even have a fireplace or a chimney breast any more, while others will have had their fireplace plastered over to make more room in their lounge. But a lot of people especially older people still use traditional fireplace coal or log burners for that unbeatably toasty feeling without having to use the central heating.

And there’s an increasing trend of young people turning to traditional fireplaces, log burners and other old style heating in their living rooms in pursuit of a cosy feel these days without adding to ever increasing energy supplier bills.

But the government has warned that using the wrong type of fuel in your fireplace could land you an eye-watering £1,000 fine instantly.

The rule isn’t new but with many households lighting their fireplaces again this winter as the weather turns colder, it’s worth making sure you don’t fall foul of the law.

We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a fairly mild November so far, but when the temperatures do inevitably plunge, it’s worth being aware of the law around fireplaces and chimneys.

The advice says: “You can be fined up to £1,000 if you buy unauthorised fuel to use in an appliance that’s not approved by Defra.

“If your appliance uses a chimney on the roof of a building (for example, a summer house), you can only burn authorised fuel unless it’s an exempt appliance.

“In a smoke control area you can only burn fuel on the list of authorised fuels, or any of the following ‘smokeless’ fuels, unless you’re using a Defra approved appliance: anthracite, semi-anthracite; gas; low volatile steam coal.”

Exempt appliances include some cookers, boilers and stoves – but not fireplace burners.

In England, there is a full list of the fuels that can be used in accordance with the Clean Air Act 1993, and also meet the Air Quality Domestic Solid Fuels Standards regulations of 2020.

If your solid fuel is not on that list, you cannot burn it in your fireplace if you live in a Smoke Control Area, which most people do as councils have put them in place in most UK areas.

The government adds: “Many parts of the UK are smoke control areas where you cannot release smoke from a chimney, and you can only burn authorised fuel, unless you use an appliance approved by Defra (also known as an ‘exempt appliance’ or ‘Defra approved appliance’.”