Landlords & holiday lets

The chimney sweep certificate landlords and holiday-let hosts actually need

Updated 1 September 2026

If you let a UK property with a wood-burner, open fire or solid-fuel range, agents, insurers and guests will ask for a sweeping record. This is not legal or insurance advice — read your own policy and tenancy paperwork.

Pressure comes from contracts

There is no nationwide statute that every chimney must hold a sweeping certificate. Buildings insurance, thatch endorsements, mortgage conditions on some holiday lets, and agent checklists are the usual drivers. A cash visit with no named certificate rarely survives a claim. See what the certificate must include.

Why agents and insurers ask

• Buildings insurance — solid-fuel conditions often require sweeping at set intervals by a competent person, with a record kept.
• Thatch and rural stock — tighter endorsements; miss the paper and cover can be in dispute.
• Letting agents — often want a current certificate on the compliance file.
• Holiday-let platforms — guests light the stove; keep a dated certificate in the house manual.

CO alarms are separate

In England, private landlords must fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any living-accommodation room with a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers excluded). That is not a substitute for sweeping. Details: CO alarms.

Ask before you book

1. On a live public register today?
2. Will you issue that body’s certificate for this address?
3. Can the certificate name the property as on the insurance schedule?
4. Thatch, nest or unused flue? Say so when you book.

Book before guests arrive for the heating season. September–December is silly season. Empty cottages pick up nests — see bird nests. How often · Cost.

Search the seed listings, then confirm live on HETAS, Guild, NACS, APICS or Sweep Safe.