As we are approaching the warmer months, now is the time to start thinking about ensuring your pool is ready for the upcoming Summer!
Drowning is a leading cause of preventable death in children under 5 years of age. In 2012, the Swimming Pools Act 1992 was amended to improve the safety of children around swimming pools in NSW. The changes include:
- swimming pool owners must register their swimming pool or spa pool on the NSW Swimming Pool Register
- accredited certifiers registered with the Building Professionals Board and local councils can carry out inspections of swimming pools
- from 29 April 2016 and unless exempted, a copy of the valid certificate of compliance or non-compliance or relevant occupation certificate (as the case may be) must be attached to the sale contract for any property with a swimming pool or spa pool to be sold and, to rent a property with a swimming pool or spa pool, a copy of the valid compliance certificate or relevant occupation certificate (as the case may be) must be given to the tenant at the time of entering into the residential tenancy agreement.
When leasing a property with a swimming pool, the landlord agrees to ensure that the requirements of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 have been complied with. The landlord agrees to ensure that at the time that this residential tenancy agreement is entered into: the swimming pool on the residential premises is registered under the Swimming Pools Act 1992 and has a valid certificate of compliance under that Act or a relevant occupation certificate within the meaning of that Act, and a copy of that valid certificate of compliance or relevant occupation certificate is provided to the tenant.
So in short, a pool MUST have a certificate of compliance from the council. We have been checking in with our owners over the last few weeks to remind them of their swimming pool compliance as it is easy to forget that renewals need to be done every 3 years. If you have any queries regarding your pool compliance, get in touch with your Property Manager today!