If your rental properties have a pool, there are several rules and regulations that apply to everyone involved in the lease.

The property owner is ultimately responsible for providing a compliant pool safety fence. They are responsible for providing evidence of the safety certificate with the rental agreement.

The property manager is obliged to ensure that a rental property with a pool is compliant with the regulations. They must ensure that the landlord and the tenant are aware of the regulations. It is important for Property Managers to add pool safety issues into their regular quarterly inspections. Tenants often tell us that non-compliance issues, such as non-closing gates, overhanging branches, loose fence panels, paling off timber fences etc. have been there for many many months.

The tenant is obliged to ensure that the pool safety fence is in good working order and they must notify the property manager of any deficiencies. Tenants must not put patio furniture, storage boxes, pot plants, dog kennels and kids play stuff up against fences. All of these things provide a foothold thus reducing the 1200mm fence height. There is a Non-Climbable Zone (NCZ) that extends 900mm on the outside and 300mm on the inside of the pool fence. Nothing within the NCZ can reduce the minimum effective fence height of 1200mm.

The bottom line is… everyone has a responsibility to make sure that children are the first consideration when it comes to pool safety.

An important feature of the pool safety fence is the non-climbable zone. This means young children should not be able to get a toe or hand hold on any object adjacent to a pool fence. It is the responsibility of the pool owner as well as the tenant to make sure that outdoor furniture, barbeques, pot plants or any other garden or patio items do not encroach or compromise the non-climbable zone around a pool fence.

Another potential issue is the maintenance of gardens around the pool fence. At the time of obtaining a pool safety certificate, the pool inspector would have checked all surrounding gardens and trees. They do this to ensure that all safety requirements were met in accordance with the regulations. Over time, there is a requirement to maintain gardens and adjacent trees. This is to ensure that the pool safety fence is not compromised.

You must have a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) sign clearly displayed near your swimming pool. This is a part of the requirements of the pool safety certificate.