Every year many young children around the world drown in backyard pools with no swimming pool fence. This is a constant concern for every parent who has a swimming pool and young children. You cannot watch your children every second of the day but if your child drowned in a pool and it was your fault you would never forgive yourself.
It’s a real tragedy for any family to have a young child drown in a swimming pool but most of these drownings can be prevented with simple pool fencing and pool alarms. Many jurisdictions around the world now require swimming pools to be fully fenced to prevent young children from drowning. This is an extra expense to the installation or maintenance of a backyard pool but absolutely necessary if you have young children in your household.
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Why do you need a swimming pool fence?
There are many drowning deaths around the world every year due to young children falling into a backyard swimming pool. The requirement to fence all backyard pools is a reaction by governments and local authorities to try to prevent or minimize the occurrence of this terrible problem. Unfortunately, there are many pool owners who have been made to fence their pool when they don’t have young children living at the property. This is particularly harsh on old age pensioners who have been living in their home for many years and are financially challenged to afford an expensive pool fence and safety certificate.
Is there a law in the USA that you must have a swimming pool fence?
There is no swimming pool fencing regulations at the federal or national level in the USA. Each state government has responsibility for pool fencing regulations. Mostly the regulations will be similar from state to state but you need to check the specifics for your state. Southern states, like Florida and Arizona, have strong pool fencing regulations because there are a lot of swimming pools in those states. Generally, most states require some type of safety fencing around an outdoor pool.
Do I need a swimming pool fence?
Many authorities around the world now require pool owners to fully fence their outdoor swimming pools for safety reasons. The regulations vary between countries and states so please check with your local authority.
Many older homeowners complain that they have been made to install a swimming pool fence around their pool when there are no children living in the house. They may have no children or their children are now adults with no grandchildren. So why do they need a pool fence?
My elderly father, who was living alone in his house, was made to install a pool fence at considerable cost to comply with the new regulations. He only has one child, me, with no grandchildren or any visiting children. This is stressful and a real financial burden on old age pensioners.
The regulators have created laws that are too tough and adversely affect pool owners with no children and no visiting children. The regulators believe they are solving a problem and attempting to apply the one set of regulations to everyone.
Who is liable if someone drowns in your pool?
A pool owner may be legally liable for a death or injury of a person invited or allowed to swim in the swimming pool if the pool and surroundings do not comply with the current legislative regulations or the pool was poorly maintained.
Insurance Requirements
Check your home building insurance policy for legal liability regarding your swimming pool. The insurance company may specify that you need to have preventative measures in place to prevent death or injury to persons using your pool. This may include a swimming pool fence or enclosure. If you don’t comply with the insurance requirements your policy premium may be more expensive and your excess may be a lot higher. If you rent your home you need to ensure that your home insurance policy covers the tenants for accident or injury in your pool.
Do I need a pool safety certificate?
Many authorities around the world now require a pool safety certificate when buying, selling or leasing a property with a swimming pool. It is illegal to sell, buy or rent a home without it even if there are no young children in the household. Usually the land titles office will not complete a title transfer for the sale of a property without the pool safety certificate. If you are a property owner and rent your property you can be fined for not having a pool fence.
Read our article on How to Pass a Pool Safety Inspection
How do I get a pool safety certificate?
The process to obtaining a safety certificate is to contact the local authority for a pool safety compliance inspector to visit your home and check your pool and backyard is in compliance with the regulations. When you have met the compliance regulations a pool safety certificate is issued. Search on the internet for a pool safety inspector in your area.
Note: There is a charge for a swimming pool inspection. Ensure that you have complied with the regulations before you call out an inspector. They will fail you and then you will need to call them out again costing you another inspection fee. There was one pool that I had inspected which failed on a small issue and I managed to fix the non-compliance issue quickly and send a photo of the fix to the inspector so he didn’t have to re-inspect the pool. This saved me another inspection fee.
How long do pool safety certificates last?
This varies considerably so check with your local authority. Typically, if the property is rented the certificate must be renewed every 2 or 3 years and whenever a new tenant first occupies the property. Typically, a homeowner must renew every 5 years or when the property is sold or rented.
Does a spa or hot tub need a fence?
If you only have a spa pool or a hot tub you can avoid having to fence the facility by installing a securely lockable lid on the pool. The lid must be closed and locked when the spa or hot tub is not in use. In some jurisdictions, the spa or hot tub will still need to be inspected by a pool safety inspector.
If you have a pool and spa both will need to be fully fenced.
Do I need a pool fence if I have an automatic pool cover?
Usually in many jurisdictions an automatic pool cover does not operate to replace a swimming pool fence. Some authorities require more than one pool safety measure so a cover does not comply with the regulations.
Basic Pool Fence Safety Inspection Checklist
Swimming pool fencing regulations vary from state to state, country to country. However, the items below are very standard and apply almost universally. Most of these items are relatively easy to comply with and are common sense.
POOL GATES
- Self-closing gate
- Opens outwards away from the pool
- Latch a minimum of 1500mm above finished ground level
- Bottom of gate is less than 100mm above ground level
- Gate is at least 1200mm high
- There are no items to hold open the gate
FENCE
How high must a fence be around a swimming pool?
- Fence is at least 1200mm (48 inches) high
- Minimum distance between the bottom and top rails to be 1100mm (45 inches)
- Young children cannot climb the pool fence
- Bottom of fence is less than 100mm above the finished ground level
- Gaps in vertical bars are less than 100mm
WINDOWS
Windows from a house that access a pool area
- Do not open more than 100mm or have security screen fitted
RESUSCITATION SIGN (CPR)
Where do you put the CPR sign in pool?
- Permanently attached to the fence or safety barrier
- Visible from within the whole pool area
- 300mm x 300mm minimum size
- Durable and weather proof
Is a pool part of a home inspection?
The swimming pool is not usually included in a home inspection when you are purchasing a home. Some home inspectors may know about pool construction and include checking the pool. However, most exclude the pool from the inspection. You would need to arrange a separate pool inspection. Similarly, most home inspections do not include a pest inspection which has to be arranged separately.
Should I Buy a House With a Swimming Pool?
Whether you purchase a home with a pool or not is a matter of personal choice and whether you think you would make good use of the pool. If you have children and you think you would frequently use the pool for many summers then it’s probably a good idea to purchase a home with a pool.
If you have experience with pools then you know that there is regular maintenance, cleaning and extra utility bills to run the filtration system. The advantage is the family fun and quality of life you will have in and around the pool.
Many pool owners find that when the family grows up and leaves home the pool is used less frequently and becomes a chore to maintain. There’s also the requirement to renovate the pool with a new surface, pump and filter which is an expensive exercise.
If you are buying a house with a pool make sure that it complies with all regulations and laws. Some councils require pools to be registered and inspected when there is a transfer of ownership.
Conclusion
Whether you agree or not with the regulations, you must install a swimming pool fence even if to only comply with requirements to sell or rent your property. I strongly agree with the requirement to have pool fences when home occupiers have small children. However, there really should be a relaxation for owners without children. Maybe they can be asked to install a pool alarm instead that would be a lot less expensive and intrusive than a fully fenced backyard swimming pool.