Warning issued as households with fireplaces could face fines of up to £1,000

-Credit: (Image: Alex Evans/Express)
-Credit: (Image: Alex Evans/Express)


Households in England are being warned they could face fines if they make a mistake with their fireplace from this month. Those with a fireplace could be slapped with a £1,000 penalty if they use an 'unauthorised fuel' that's not approved by Defra.

While many new build homes constructed since 2000 don't have a fire place or a chimney, and others will have had their fireplace plastered over to make more room in their lounge, a lot of older homes will still have traditional fireplace coal or log burners, the Express reports. In fact, solid fuel fireplaces have had a resurgence in recent years as younger people are installing them to add a cosy, crackling way to heat their homes in the tough winter months without jacking up their gas and electricity bill.

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

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“If your appliance uses a chimney on the roof of a building (for example, a summerhouse), 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’.”