Pool Safety Laws: How to Lease a Property with Pool in Queensland

Are you planning to lease out your property with a pool as a holiday rental? Are you aware of the pool safety regulations? Do you know that violation of pool safety laws can result in fines of up to $16,500 for individuals? 

Leasing out a property with a shared or non-shared pool comes attached with certain responsibilities. Pool safety regulations exist to ensure the safety of people, especially children as the leading cause of loss of life for children below 5 in Queensland is drowning. This blog post will explore the topic of Queensland pool safety laws and what you need to do to comply with the regulations before leasing out your property.

What is Pool Safety Compliance?

In practical terms, it means that you have engaged a licensed pool safety inspector for inspection and have obtained a pool safety certificate. The pool safety certificate is awarded when the inspector certifies that the pool complies with all the relevant safety laws applicable to all pools and outdoor spas.

If you are the owner of a rental property with a pool and you want to lease it out, you need to make sure that you provide a pool safety certificate in the case of shared pools. This means the tenant needs to be provided with a copy of the pool safety certificate by the owner. If no certificate is there, the owner must give notice of no pool safety certificate which is Form 36 to the tenant as well as the body corporate and the Department of Infrastructure and Planning before they enter the lease.

Pool Safety Checklist

The pool safety laws are designed to prevent young children from accessing the pool area without any supervision. Your pool needs to be in compliance with the relevant laws and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission recommends engaging the services of a licensed pool safety inspector for inspecting the pool and confirming that it is compliant with all the relevant laws. 

Here’s a short checklist of the most common issues that arise during a safety inspection:

• Pool fence with a constant height of 1.2 m or above all around the pool
• A gap of less than 100 mm on either side of the vertical bars
• Insecure pool fence posts
• The structural soundness of the timber boundary pool fence
• Presence of gaps under the fence of more than 100 mm
• Damaged pool fence
• Lack of a child-resistant barrier
• Presence of climbable Babel objects above 1.2 m height outside the pool fence
• Presence of climbable objects within 300 mm of the pool fence area
• Lack of clearly visible CPR sign
• Presence of windows with direct access to the pool area without a security type screen
• Pool gate hinges with a minimum distance of 900 mm
• Pool gate opens away from the pool area

Helpful Tips to Lease Your Property with a Pool

If you own a rental property that also has a pool and you plan to lease it out, you need to make sure the property complies with the relevant pool safety laws. All the property owners in Queensland are required to have a compliant fence around the swimming pool. 

Also, property owners are required to engage the services of a licensed pool safety inspector and obtain a pool safety certificate before leasing it out. The pool safety certificate comes with a validity of one year.

Here are a few helpful tips to lease your property with a pool:

• List your property on Airbnb and other popular vacation rental platforms
• Upload good quality photos that clearly display the available amenities
• Highlight the availability of the pool
• Mention in the description that the pool complies with the safety laws and there is a safety certificate in place
• Compare the rental prices for similar properties in your location
• Price it a bit lower in order to attract more eyeballs to your listing
• Hire the services of a specialist property manager to take care of the listing and your property.

Conclusion

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the leading cause of death of young children in Queensland is drowning. This is why the government came up with safety regulations that came into effect on 1 December 2010. These regulations state that property owners need to have a pool safety certificate in place before leasing out a property or selling it. 

A licenced pool safety inspector will inspect the pool and make sure it is compliant with all the relevant laws before issuing a pool safety certificate. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines of up to $16,500 for individuals and around $48,000 for corporations. Getting a pool safety certificate isn’t that complicated. Engage a licensed inspector to inspect the pool and issue a certificate. The cost of obtaining a pool safety certificate ranges anywhere from $80-$150.

Hire BnB Booking for Queensland Property Management

Airbnb has opened up a vast business opportunity for property owners. However, their listings are highly competitive. Managing your listings as well as taking care of your property takes a lot of time and this is why smart property owners engage the services of professional property managers to have more time to focus on their business. 

BnB Booking is a premium property management service specialising in short stays and holiday homes throughout the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. We have numerous years of experience in managing rental property listings and ensuring high visibility for our clients. Get in touch with us to learn how we can help you make more money with your property.

Please call us at BNB Booking today on 1300 421 029 or leave an enquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible.