Bay of Plenty Regional Council is reminding Rotorua property buyers of a new rule which bans the selling of homes with open fires and non-compliant solid fuel burners.

The Rotorua Air Quality Control Bylaw and in particular the Point of Sale Rule mean that from May 1, next year, properties in the Rotorua airshed cannot be sold with solid fuel burners that do not meet clean air standards.

The council's sustainable development manager, Kataraina Maki, says property buyers need to be aware that if they bought a property with an old wood burner or open fire before then they may ultimately be responsible for its upgrade.

The bylaw includes open fires, freestanding or built-in wood burners, potbelly stoves, coal ranges, water heaters and solid fuel burning central heating systems.

A solid fuel burner is compliant if it meets the heating efficiency and emission standards set by the Ministry for the Environment.

'These standards came into effect on 1 September 2005 so the majority of wood burners installed after this date are clean air approved,” says Kataraina.

'But open fires are not and must be disabled if a property is sold after May 2012.”

Rotorua has the worst wintertime air quality in the North Island, mainly caused by home heating using old wood burners and open fires.

Upgrading homes to clean home heating will help improve the air quality.

To help homeowners with the cost of upgrading, the regional council offers the Rotorua Hot Swap loan to convert to clean heat.