Chimney sweeping in France: frequency, certificate, fine

How often must a chimney be swept?

Until 2023, the frequency was set by the règlements sanitaires départementaux (departmental public health regulations). The decree of 20 July 2023 wrote the rules into the code de la santé publique (Public Health Code). According to the ANIL (the national housing information agency), they now appear in articles R1331-66 to R1331-78 of the Public Health Code, following a renumbering made by a decree of 29 July 2023. Their content:

The stricter orders are those provided for by article L1311-2 of the Public Health Code: arrêtés préfectoraux (orders issued by the préfet, the State’s representative in the département) or arrêtés du maire (mayoral orders) which supplement the national rule in the département or the commune (municipality) (ANIL). To find out the rule where you live, service-public.gouv.fr refers you to the mairie (town hall) or the préfecture (the préfet’s office).

Two clarifications in the decree:

• when an appliance is first installed or replaced, the first sweep takes place within the period applicable to the appliance;
• an appliance left completely unused for at least twelve months (six months for a collective appliance) does not have to be swept during that period, but a sweep is required before it is used again.

Open wood fireplaces are exempt from the periodic servicing of the appliance provided for by the decree, but their users must keep them “in good working order and clean”. For the flue, service-public.gouv.fr is clear: sweeping is required, whether the fireplace is open or closed.

Servicing or sweeping rules laid down by a departmental public health regulation or a municipal order and carried out before 1 October 2023 are deemed to satisfy the new obligations (ANIL).

Who must arrange the sweep, and who pays?

The decree allocates the responsibility according to the type of appliance:

• individual appliance: the sweep is carried out “on the initiative of the occupant”;
• collective appliance (a building’s boiler room, for example): it falls to the owner, the syndicat des copropriétaires (the co-owners’ association of a building in co-ownership) or the operator, and occupants must give access after being notified.

In a rental, service-public.gouv.fr lists among the routine maintenance borne by the tenant “having the ventilation ducts and the flues for smoke and gases swept (boiler, fireplace, mechanical ventilation, etc.)”. The ANIL gives the same list.

The chimney sweeping certificate

Each sweeping or servicing operation results in the issue of a certificate “within fifteen working days following completion of the operation” (decree no. 2023-641). It specifies the flues swept and certifies that they are clear along their entire length. The person who commissioned the work, that is the occupant for an individual appliance, keeps it for at least two years and makes it available to the officers in charge of inspection.

The sweep must be carried out by a person who is professionally qualified within the meaning of article L121-1 of the code de l’artisanat (Crafts Code) (decree no. 2023-641).

Penalty and insurance

Failure to comply with the sweeping obligation can lead to a €450 fine (service-public.gouv.fr).

As for insurance, neither the decree nor the official fact sheets consulted lay down a rule specific to chimney sweeping: it is the clauses of your home insurance policy that determine the consequences of poor maintenance. Service-public.gouv.fr only recalls the general rules in the event of fire: claim to be declared within 5 working days and a 2-year limitation period for taking action against the insurer. So keep the certificate, which the decree requires you to keep for at least two years.

Paris and the Île-de-France region

The whole of Île-de-France is covered by a plan de protection de l’atmosphère (air quality protection plan). In Paris and in many communes of the region, the use of open fireplaces is prohibited; only occasional decorative fires may be tolerated (service-public.gouv.fr). In a copropriété (building in co-ownership), also check that the règlement de copropriété (building regulations) does not prohibit use of the fireplace. In mainland France, replacing an open fireplace with a closed one is no longer funded by MaPrimeRénov’ (the State renovation grant) as a single measure: it can only be financed as part of a rénovation d’ampleur (whole-home renovation) (home rated E, F or G); see our guide MaPrimeRénov’ (renovation grant). The France Rénov’ advisers can be reached on 0 808 800 700.

Which professional to consult

The sweep itself is a job for a qualified chimney sweep within the meaning of the Crafts Code. For a let property, the agent immobilier (estate agent) managing it can remind the tenant that the sweep is their responsibility. Before a purchase, the notaire (notary) can tell you whether the building regulations restrict the use of fireplaces.