UK households using their fireplace in November face £1,000 fine

UK households using their fireplace in November risk a £1k fine for breaking environmental rules. Hundreds of thousands of people who have a fireplaces in the home will also be dusting it off for the first time this season as we head towards Christmas.

But burning biomass wood – especially wet wood – is a source of pollutants. The World Health Organisation has identified particles they produce as being particularly harmful to human health and it could mean you get fined.

Councils have the power to issue fines for improper use of a log burner, starting from £175. That can rise to £300 if your chimney releases smoke in a smoke control area. And you can be fined up to £1,000 if you buy unauthorised fuel to use in an appliance that not approved by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

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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." 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'."

In England you may have to pay a penalty of up to £300 if your local council decides your chimney releases too much smoke. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you burn unauthorised fuel without an exempt appliance.