What do real estate agencies, landlords, property managers and body corporates need to know about pool compliance?
For the safety of children, families and the community, it’s crucial to ensure that residential pools and their barriers, fences and gates are fully compliant with strict Victorian regulations. But what about Body Corporates or real estate agencies?
As we know, the Body Corporate is how we refer to the entity that represents the group of owners who collectively control and/or own land that may involve a multitude of units, apartments or townhouses. New Victorian legislation about pool compliance makes clear what responsibilities the Body Corporate has in relation to potentially dangerous areas of common property, such as stairs, laundry, driveways, and pools/spas.
Does your Body Corporate, or its management group such as a real estate agency, need to obtain a Pool Compliance Certificate for your land’s common pool and barriers? At Pool Compliance Victoria, our fully qualified, registered and experienced inspectors can help ensure your Body Corporate is fully compliant and keeping everyone safe with a swift and thorough body corporate or real estate pool inspection.
Every Body Corporate in Victoria has a moral and legal responsibility to every related owner or resident to ensure that every regulation about pool safety is adhered to strictly, including up-to-date and fully correct documentation.
- Are you fully up to speed with the new regulations?
- Are you sure your Body Corporate is in full compliance?
- Has your Body Corporate’s pool/spa been properly registered?
- Is the Compliance Certificate fully up to date?
- Are you 100% sure your tub, wading pool or relocatable/inflatable pools are affected?
Remember, as soon as your Body Corporate registers your pool or spa, it is still your responsibility to organise a body corporate/real estate inspection of the safety barriers to avoid:
- A certificate of non-compliance
- Hefty four-digit fines and penalties
- Other potential notices and severe penalties under the Building Act 1993
- Liability risks in the event of drowning/death/injury.
The real estate pool inspection can only be carried out by a registered pool inspector, who will either show a green light or determine what needs to be done to bring the pool into full compliance. Some pools are within common access areas, next to tennis courts, accessed from the games room and the like, meaning each situation is unique requiring detailed knowledge and experience.
What about real estate agents?
Like the Body Corporate, real estate agents empowered with selling homes and properties are also subject to various government and council requirements with regards to pool barrier compliance. While agents do not currently need to obtain a pool safety certificate prior to sale, there are responsibilities such as Form 23, relating to pool/spa barrier compliance under the Building Act 1993.
In many cases, conveyancers will ask real estate agents for Form 23, which pertains to various details including:
- The safety barrier standard
- A compliant performance solution
- An up-to-date pool/spa safety barrier inspection
- Valid certification of compliance with all requirements/regulations
- The signature of a relevant pool inspector/surveyor.
There are also legal implications for the various stages of a property sale, including pre-contract, pre-settlement, and post-settlement.
Rental Property Pool Inspections
Who is responsible for rental properties with pools or spas? The landlord or property manager must ensure the pool or spa is secure and compliant with pool safety regulations. At the beginning of a tenancy, the landlord or property manager should check there is a current pool compliance certificate or reach out to Pool Compliance Victoria to book an inspection and obtain one, both for the safety of tenants and to avoid large fines.
Let Pool Compliance Victoria help today
Do you need a Body Corporate/real estate pool inspection? Here at Pool Compliance Victoria, we are fully up-to-date and highly experienced in every aspect of the new pool safety barrier regulations. Our services cover metro Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges, Geelong, and we also do country runs to keep regional Victoria safe and compliant too.
With more than 50 years of combined swimming pool & spa inspection experience, we know exactly how to keep families and entities safe and fully compliant with hassle-free, affordable pool safety inspections, so get in touch with the friendly team today.