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Wood burner rules in Canterbury: clean air zones, the 20-year rule and ULEBs

Checked against Environment Canterbury's published home heating rules and its clean air zone map on 30 September 2026. The rules change from time to time, so before you buy or replace a burner confirm the current position at ecan.govt.nz or call Environment Canterbury on 0800 324 636. This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

The short version

Canterbury has seven clean air zones: Christchurch, Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Ashburton, Timaru, Geraldine and Waimate. Inside the Christchurch, Rangiora and Kaiapoi zones, on a section under 2 hectares, a low-emission wood burner can be used for 20 years from the date it was installed and then has to stop, and the only burner you can install new is an ultra-low emission burner (a ULEB). Outside the zones, which takes in Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, West Melton, Templeton, Darfield, Tai Tapu and the rest of Selwyn, there is no expiry date on a burner and either a low-emission burner or a ULEB can be installed. Wherever you are, the wood has to be dry: the Canterbury Air Regional Plan asks for 25 percent moisture or less, and the sweet spot for a clean, hot fire is 15 to 20 percent.

Are you in a clean air zone?

The zones follow the built-up area of each town rather than the district boundary, which is why a street in Kaiapoi is inside a zone and a street in Rolleston is not. Environment Canterbury publishes the boundaries on Canterbury Maps and will tell you over the phone which side of the line an address sits. As a guide, and checked against that map:

  • Inside a zone: the Christchurch urban area from Belfast and Marshland round to Hornby, Halswell, Sumner and Redcliffs, plus Rangiora and Kaiapoi.
  • Outside every zone: Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, West Melton, Templeton, Tai Tapu, Lyttelton and the harbour bays, Woodend, Pegasus, Ohoka, Darfield, Kirwee, Leeston, Springston, Oxford and the rural areas between.

The Christchurch zone's western edge runs close to the north-east side of Prebbleton and Templeton, along the Halswell Junction and Hornby side, so a property out that way on the city side of the district line can be inside the zone while the village is not. If you are near the edge, check the address rather than the town.

You may read elsewhere that Rolleston, Lincoln, West Melton and Prebbleton are clean air zones with a 2027 replacement deadline. They are not on Environment Canterbury's list and they sit outside the zone boundaries on its map. If someone tells you your Selwyn burner has expired, check with Environment Canterbury before you spend anything.

Inside the Christchurch, Rangiora and Kaiapoi zones

On a section under 2 hectares, which is nearly every house in town:

  • A new burner must be an ultra-low emission burner. Low-emission burners can no longer be installed.
  • A low-emission burner that is already in can be used for up to 20 years from the date it was installed. After that it is non-compliant and cannot be used. A burner installed in 2006 reaches 20 years in 2026, so this is now catching people.
  • Open fires and older style burners cannot be used.
  • Environment Canterbury notes that an approved secondary emission reduction device may let a compliant burner run past the 20 years. Ask them about it before relying on it.

On a section over 2 hectares the rules are looser: low-emission burners and ULEBs can be installed, an older burner already in place can go on being used, and open fires are only ruled out if they were put in from 2013 onwards.

To find your burner's installation date, Environment Canterbury points people to its Solid Fuel Burner Database and to the city or district council, which holds the building consent for the install.

Outside the zones (Selwyn and rural Waimakariri)

  • Both low-emission burners and ULEBs can be installed.
  • There is no 20-year expiry.
  • On a section under 2 hectares an older style burner can go on being used but a new one cannot be installed.
  • The smoke rules still apply: dry, seasoned wood only, and no visible smoke apart from about 15 minutes at start-up and 5 minutes after refuelling.

What a ULEB is, and what it means for your wood

An ultra-low emission burner is a wood burner that has passed Environment Canterbury's real-life emissions test at a much lower level of smoke than the older low-emission standard. They run hotter and cleaner, but they are less forgiving. A ULEB with wet wood in it will smoke and struggle just like any other fire, and several have a smaller or shallower firebox than the burner they replaced. That is why we cut a shorter ULEB pine at 20 to 23 cm alongside our standard 25 to 30 cm cut, so the pieces sit properly and the door closes. If you are not sure which cut your burner takes, measure the firebox from front to back and call us on 03 359 9323.

Help with the cost of a replacement burner

Two subsidies exist at the time of writing. Environment Canterbury runs one for households with a Community Services Card, or a SuperGold card with the Community Services Card notation, though burners that expired before 25 October 2016 are not eligible. The government's Warmer Kiwi Homes programme runs the other. Details and eligibility are on ecan.govt.nz. Most burner retailers also offer payment plans.

The wood side of the rules

The Air Regional Plan requires wood at 25 percent moisture or less, and Environment Canterbury's Warmer Cheaper campaign recommends 15 to 20 percent for a warm, smoke-free fire. Freshly cut wood is 40 to 70 percent water, and it takes a summer or more outdoors to bring it down. Environment Canterbury keeps a list of Trusted Good Wood Merchants, suppliers it has reviewed and accredited for supplying dry, seasoned wood, and City Firewood is on it. Our kiln dried wood is dried in our own kilns and tested before it leaves the yard, so it is ready to burn the day it arrives. If you want to save by drying wood yourself, our DIY Dry Instructions set out how, and the Firewood Dryness Options page explains the difference between kiln dried, seasoned, semi-dry and DIY.

Questions we get asked

My burner was installed in 2005. Can I still use it? In Christchurch, Rangiora or Kaiapoi on a section under 2 hectares, no, it reached 20 years in 2025. In Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton or West Melton, yes.

Can I put a low-emission burner into a new house in Rolleston? Yes. Rolleston is outside every clean air zone, so a low-emission burner or a ULEB can be installed. In Christchurch it would have to be a ULEB.

Does kiln dried wood matter more in a ULEB? ULEBs are tuned to burn cleanly on dry wood and show the difference quickly when the wood is wet. Wood at 25 percent or less is the rule everywhere; under 20 percent is what makes a ULEB perform.

Where do I check my zone or my burner's age? Environment Canterbury, 0800 324 636, or the clean air zone map on Canterbury Maps. Your council holds the building consent with the installation date.