From 2013, house and apartment owners will be able to freely choose the chimney sweep company they wish to commission to carry out most chimney sweeping work. The company must be authorized under trade law to carry out chimney sweeping activities in Germany (see "Requirements").

However, the option of commissioning a service provider does not apply to the activities reserved for authorized district chimney sweeps in the future, which are listed below:

• the keeping of the sweep book with the inspection of whether the obligations incumbent on owners under the sweeping and inspection regulations and the 1st BImSchV are being complied with,
• carrying out the fireplace inspection, including checking the operational and fire safety of the installations,
• issuing the fireplace notice,
• carrying out event-related inspections,
• issuing certificates for building inspections in accordance with state law and
• carrying out substitute inspections if owners have not fulfilled their cleaning, inspection or measurement obligations.

Until December 31, 2012, all households were legally obliged to receive a so-called chimney notice from the district chimney sweep. This lists all the chimney sweeping work that must be carried out before the next fireplace inspection. House and apartment owners must arrange for this work to be carried out by a suitable chimney sweep themselves. If the authorized district chimney sweep is not commissioned, proof of completion must be provided by means of a form.

If the work to be carried out is not carried out or the authorized district chimney sweep is not notified within the deadline, the latter shall report this to the responsible district administrative authority (district administration office or district-free city). The authority will then issue a second, chargeable notice setting a deadline for the missing sweepings, inspections or measurements. If the chimney sweeping work is still not carried out, the authority must initiate a substitute performance, which will incur further costs.

The districts are assigned to so-called authorized district chimney sweeps for a limited period of seven years. As tradespeople, these belong to the chimney sweep trade and, in addition to the tasks assigned to them (see above), may also carry out other chimney sweeping work in competition.

When commissioning a company, it should be noted that only companies that are entered in the Register of Craftsmen with the chimney sweep trade or partial activities of the chimney sweep trade or are permitted to carry out cross-border services in the chimney sweep trade in implementation of EU law are authorized to carry out state-prescribed chimney sweeping work.

According to the EU/EEA Crafts Regulation, foreign chimney sweeps must notify the Chamber of Crafts of their intention to work in Germany and provide documentary evidence of their authorization. The Chamber of Crafts at the location of the planned first-time activity is responsible. Chimney sweep work may only be carried out once the Chamber of Crafts has either stated that it does not intend to re-examine the professional qualification or if it has determined that the professional qualification is sufficient. If homeowners wish to commission a chimney sweep from another EU country, they can use the chimney sweep register to find out whether the foreign chimney sweep company meets the requirements for carrying out chimney sweeping work. The chimney sweep register is published by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) on its website (see "Related links"). It is not a legal requirement for carrying out chimney sweeping activities, but purely a source of information. Owners who do not have Internet access should check with their Chamber of Crafts before commissioning a service provider whether the company in question is listed in the register.

The commissioning of a non-authorized person is at the owner's expense.

The deadlines for carrying out or verifying chimney sweeping work are included in the respective fireplace notification of the house and apartment owners.

For the tasks reserved for the authorized district chimney sweeps from 2013 - in particular fireplace inspections and fireplace notifications - a state fee schedule has been issued (Annex 3 to Section 6 KÜO).

All other prices for chimney sweeping work are freely negotiable from 2013.