Residential Swimming PoolsNgā puna kaukau

A private swimming or spa pool is a significant asset for the home. It becomes the centre of activities in summer; the place for the family to sit around in the evenings or when friends come over for a BBQ. 

Sadly, it can also be a deadly danger for small children and a significant number of toddlers have drowned in private swimming and spa pools. 

Although you may not have small children or grandchildren yourself, perhaps the children of relatives or friends may visit you (often, the children who drown in private pools live on or are invited visitors to the property).

Pool owners and people, including tenants, with pools on their property, all have duties under the Act. Pool owners must tell the council if they have a pool or are intending to get or build a pool.  A building consent is required and barriers around all pools must be installed to the standard set out in the Act. If a pool does not have a barrier to this standard, the owner must ensure that the pool is kept empty.

Persons renting or leasing a house with a pool must ensure the pool is empty if it does not have barriers that complies with the Act.

Council is required to take all reasonable steps to make sure that the Act is complied with.

If a pool is kept empty, barriers must be erected to prevent falling.

Pool barriers must fully enclose the pool area and it should prevent young children from getting into the pool area from any part of the property.

A boundary fence can make up part of your pool barrier, providing it meets compliance requirements.

• A minimum of 1.8m in height and at least 1.2m above any permanent object (e.g. decking) that is within 1.2m of the barrier.
• Where the barrier is made up of perforated material, netting, or mesh, and contains holes more than 10mm wide, the barrier must be at least 1.8m high.
• The space between the bottom of the barrier and the ground must not exceed 100mm.
• Be built of a durable material that cannot readily be crossed by children under five years old.
• Barriers made of vertical poles must be spaced within 100mm of each adjacent vertical pole.
• All barrier supports, rails, and bracing which are not vertical shall be inaccessible for climbing from the outside of the fencing/barrier.
• A barrier made of perforated material, mesh, or netting must not have holes bigger than 50mm wide and the material must be firmly attached to a rail at the top and bottom of the barrier/fencing.
• Gates are to be self closing, open outwards from the pool, and be clear of anything likely to hold them open.  A self locking catch must be attached either 1.5m high if on the outside of the barrier or 150mm below the top surface of the solid parallel gate/fence/door. The self locking barrier must be incapable of being unlocked by pulling, lifting, or pushing on the gate.
• When a building forms part of a barrier, the door in the building must have a lock preventing that door from being readily opened by children under the age of five years.

Any gates and doors need to open away from the pool. Every gate needs to be fitted with a self-closing and self-latching device that closes/latches from a static start of 150mm.
The outside latches must be at least 1500mm above the ground and the inside latch must not be accessible by reaching through the gate unless the hole in the gate is at a minimum height of 1200mm above ground/finished floor level.

There must be no object near the gate that could hold it open. 

The wall of a building may form part of the barrier if it complies with the Building Code.
Any doors that provide direct access to the pool must be self-closing and self-latching and must be fitted with a locking device at least 1500mm from floor level or an approved alarm.

They can't be fitted with any device that can hold them open.
Windows must be fitted with limiters that prevent the windows opening more than 100mm. 

Be aware if a boundary fence is made use of, there is a danger that a neighbour may unwittingly make the barrier unsafe. For example, the neighbour may stack timber against the barrier so that it becomes easy for a child to climb over the pool area. This is reliant on the boundary fence being 1800mm in height and the fencing material including posts, rails etc to remain non-climbable from to top 900mm's. This is so a child cannot lower themselves down into a pool from the inside of the fence. 

Lockable spa pool covers do not comply with the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act, so spa pools must also have a barrier/ fence. 

Spa pools that are sized 5m² or less, the walls of the spa pool are at least 750mm above the adjacent floor or ground, with non-climbable walls, the cover or barrier must

• restrict the entry of children when closed
• be able to withstand a reasonably foreseeable load
• be able to be readily returned to the closed position
• have signage indicating its child safety features.

These spa pools do not require Building Consent or 3 yearly inspections by council.

The definition of a temporary or pop up pool is a pool you buy for the purpose of only being up for a short period of time or for the hottest months of summer and then is packed away again until next time. No Building consent is required as it is not a permanent structure. It does need to be inspected every 3 years as required under section 162D Building Act 2004.

The same risks remain in having a temporary pool up over the summer period as there is with a permanent pool. Please read the requirements under the Building Act to give you a good outline of what is required.

Government legislation states that all pools are required to be fully fenced, the only exceptions are where

• the pool is small and holds less than of 400mm of water OR
• ​the sides of the pool are 1.2 metres high at all points around the pool from the outside ground level AND
• the sides of the pool are smooth, so a child under the age of five years cannot get a toe hold to pull themselves up to the top level of the pool AND
• there is a 1.2 metre clear zone around the pool, this means there isn't anything around the pool a child under the age of five years can climb on, stand on, jump from, drag to the side of the pool etc, to get into the pool
• the means of entering the pool is stored away from the pool so a child under 5 cannot move it back near the pool edge.

If your temporary pool doesn't comply with the above exceptions, then it is required to be properly fenced to the requirements of the Building Act 2004.

Owners must have their pools or pool barriers checked either by Council or an independently qualified pool inspector every three years to ensure pool barriers are maintained in a safe condition and the surroundings haven't changed ie have a climbable object adjacent to the pool.

Pool owners must not only ensure the pool has suitable barriers, but you must also maintain that barrier. This means you must repair or replace any hinges on gates and catches or latches when broken. You must also fix door alarms or self-closers as soon as they stop working.

It also means you should not remove any catches or stays required to be installed on doors and windows.

All residential swimming pools and pool fencing require Building Consents unless they are specifically exempt.

You need to complete an application form and provide drawings and relevant specifications, in particular for the pool barrier (as with all building consent applications).

You need to provide details for:

• post foundations,
• heights of rails,
• gaps (both between rails, and between the top rail to the top of the fence),
• site plans,
• how the gate(s) will self-close and self-latch and
• if you are using a building to form part of the barrier you will need to provide details for doors or windows that give access to the pool and, where relevant, any decks that overhang the pool.

Including photos often assist Council’s decisions for consent applications.

You can learn more about the building consent process here or apply for a building consent here.