A certificate is needed for every cleaning, the flues have to be matched to specific flats, and the work can only be done if the residents let the chimney sweep into their flats. The work is usually ordered by the building manager, the flat owners' association or the owners themselves. Cleaning one flue costs from €100. Write the address, the number of flats and how the building is heated in the form.
Why a certificate is always needed in an apartment building
In the fire safety regulations a multi-flat property is any building with two or more flats, including a small two-flat house with a shared roof. The exception that allows skipping the certificate applies only to a single-dwelling property. So in an apartment building every cleaning of a flue and a natural ventilation duct must have a certificate with the name and number of the cleaner's qualification document.
The owner is responsible for shared heating and ventilation systems, or the manager if this is set out in the management contract. The Residential Property Management Law counts compliance with fire safety requirements among the mandatory management tasks. The work is done by a qualified chimney sweep, and the certificate states their qualification document.
Cabinet Regulation No. 238 “Fire Safety Regulations”, sub-point 2.3 (multi-flat property) and point 72 (certificate); the Fire Safety, Firefighting and Rescue Work Law, Section 4(1) and (3); the Residential Property Management Law, Section 6(2), point 1, sub-points (d) and (g). Source: likumi.lv, checked 04.11.2026. Regulations checked 04.11.2026; from 2 January 2027 they will be replaced by new fire safety regulations, which we will check as soon as they are adopted.
Which buildings and which flues
- Pre-war masonry and wooden buildings, for example in Avoti, Grīziņkalns or Āgenskalns, where flats still have tiled stoves or wood-burning cookers with a shared chimney for several channels.
- Buildings with gas boilers or gas water heaters in the flats: brick flues once a year, lined and metal ones once every two years.
- Buildings with their own boiler house for solid fuel: the boiler flue twice a season.
- All apartment buildings: natural ventilation ducts once every 10 years, but in rooms with gas appliances once every five years.
Cabinet Regulation No. 238, point 68 (long-burn appliances), point 71 (gas and liquid-fuel flues) and point 80 (natural ventilation ducts). Source: likumi.lv, checked 04.11.2026.
How the work usually goes in a building with residents
- Flue layout The certificate must state the location of each flue, so first we need to find out which channel runs from which flat and serves which appliance.
- Notice to residents Residents are told the date and time in advance and asked not to heat the evening before. The notice is usually put up in the stairwell or sent out by the building manager.
- Roof and attic Access to the attic and the roof hatch is usually arranged by the building manager. The channels of a shared chimney are cleaned from the top, and in the flats the soot is taken out at the stove doors and fireboxes.
- Flats in turn The flats are cleaned one after another. If a flat cannot be accessed, its flue stays uncleaned.
- Certificates A certificate is drawn up for each flue, showing what has been cleaned, where damage was found and which flues must not be used.
The most common problem is access. If a resident does not let us in, the flue stays uncleaned, but responsibility for the shared systems stays with the manager.
What we find in old buildings
In old buildings the flues have often been rebuilt piece by piece. We often find a stove connected to a channel that also has a gas appliance connected to it, although stoves must not be connected to gas flue channels. We also find bricked-up old channels with soot in them, ventilation ducts used to carry smoke, and cracks in the chimney in the attic. We record this in the certificate and price the repair separately. Ventilation ducts have their own page: ventilation check in an apartment building.
LBN 231-15, point 24 (stoves and fireplaces must not be connected to flue channels that have gas appliances connected) and point 47 (flue gases must not be discharged into ventilation ducts). Source: likumi.lv, checked 04.11.2026.
How much a chimney sweep for an apartment building costs
Cleaning one flue with a certificate costs from €100, and call-out in Riga and the Riga region is included. In an apartment building the total depends on the number of flues, the height of the building, access to the roof and how many flats have to be entered. We price the ventilation duct check and the technical condition report separately, by the number of ducts. All prices: prices.
We work in apartment buildings across Riga, including in Avoti, Grīziņkalns and Āgenskalns.
Sources
- Multi-flat property: two or more flats (2.3); cleaning certificate with the qualification document; exception only for a single-dwelling property (72) checked 4 November 2026
- Deadlines: points 68, 71; ventilation ducts once every 5 years in rooms with gas appliances and once every 10 years in a multi-flat property (80) checked 4 November 2026
- Responsible person: the owner, or the manager if set out in the management contract; shared heating and ventilation systems (Section 4(1) and (3)) checked 4 November 2026
- Mandatory management tasks: inspection, technical maintenance, ensuring compliance with fire safety requirements (Section 6(2), point 1(d), (g)) checked 4 November 2026
- Stoves must not be connected to gas flue channels (24); flue gases must not be discharged into ventilation ducts (47) checked 4 November 2026