General
We carry out the following tasks in the field of chimney sweeping:
- Questions about chimney sweeping
- Collection of chimney sweep fees
- Enforcement of prescribed chimney sweeping work
The Building and Immission Control Department deals with defects in combustion plants. Further information is available here:
- The new chimney sweep law came fully into force on 01.01.2013. Sweeping districts in their previous form continue to exist.
- Since then, the sweeping district owners have been called "authorized district chimney sweeps". The tasks of the authorized district chimney sweeps range from the initial inspection when installing or modifying firing systems, carrying out the fireplace inspection (which takes place twice in 7 years), issuing the fireplace certificate and monitoring the scheduling of the chimney sweeping work to be carried out. These "sovereign tasks" are reserved exclusively for the authorized district chimney sweep.
- Since January 2013, you have been able to freely choose a chimney sweep for all "non-sovereign tasks". The chimney sweeping work to be carried out on the basis of the fireplace notice ("non-sovereign tasks") may only be carried out by qualified chimney sweeps.
- You can search for a chimney sweep for your place of residence on the homepage of the Stuttgart Chimney Sweep Guild.
- Regarding the "sovereign tasks" to your authorized district chimney swe ep (district owner).
If you do not know who your district owner is, you can find the authorized district chimney sweep responsible for you on our interactive map by clicking on the relevant area. If you have any queries, the district administration office as the supervisory authority will provide you with further information about the authorized district chimney sweep. - Regarding the "non-sovereign tasks" to a chimney sweep company. You can find a selection of chimney sweep companies on the website of the Stuttgart Chimney Sweep Guild.
- Fees are charged for the official activities of the authorized district chimney sweep in accordance with the federal sweeping and inspection regulations (KÜO) or the MLW fee ordinance. Detailed information on this can be obtained from the responsible supervisory authority.
- The costs for chimney sweeping work commissioned on the basis of the chimney sweeping certificate must be agreed directly with the chimney sweeping company (no "sovereign fees").
- The work must be carried out in any case. Anyone who has notprovided evidence of the work to the sweeping district owner no later than two weeks after the deadline set in the fireplace notice must expect a so-called "forced sweeping " to be ordered. This is associated with additional costs, which can easily be avoided if the work is carried out on time.
- In contrast to the previous law, the authorized district chimney sweep is no longer obliged to carry out so-called free (i.e. "non-sovereign") chimney sweeping work. He/she can therefore also refuse to accept orders.
- This freedom of choice does not apply if the authorized district chimney sweep is acting in a sovereign capacity , for example when inspecting fireplaces. The authorized district chimney sweep registers for this as usual.
Fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are becoming increasingly popular. More and more people are discovering the positive aspects of wood-burning systems. Wood is also a climate-friendly fuel and burns almostCO2 neutral.
As environmentally friendly and climate-friendly as wood-burning systems can be, improper storage of fuels and incorrect operator behavior can easily lead to technically flawless wood-burning systems operating in an environmentally harmful manner and increasing the risk of fire .
For this reason, since March 2010, the legislator has required that every operator of a hand-fed solid fuel firing systemmust seek advice from a chimney sweep regarding the proper operation of the firing system, the proper storage of fuels and the special features of handling solid fuels after the system has been installed or after a change of operator within one year (see Section 4 (8) of the 1st Federal Immission Control Ordinance).
Further information on this can be found
- on the website of the Federal Environment Agency, which has published the brochure "Heating with wood - A guide to correct and clean heating".
- on the website of the Federal Association of Chimney Sweeps, which has published a flyer entitled "Heating with wood".
- on the website of the Baden Württemberg State Institute for the Environment.
