IN-GROUND & ABOVE-GROUND POOL INSPECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE DARLING DOWNS

HOMEOWNER

As a homeowner, you are not required to have a pool safety certificate in place, however you are required to ensure that your property meets current pool fence regulations. It can be difficult to self-assess your property, so you can either ask us to do a pool safety inspection or an advisory consultation. After your pool safety inspection has been completed, you will be issued with a pool safety certificate if it is compliant. If it is not compliant, however, a nonconformity notice will be issued, and you will have 90 days to rectify the issues.

If you had your initial pool safety consultation with us, we will return to inspect the property after the 90-day period and issue a pool safety certificate, if compliant. This is for the cost of a re-inspection, plus certificate fee.

SELLING

If you are selling your property, you have a few options. These include:

• We recommend that you obtain a Form 23—Pool Safety Certificate so that the buyer knows exactly what they are purchasing and that it complies with the pool safety laws. This will avoid any complications during negotiations, up to and including settlement.
• If you have a pool safety inspection and a Form 26 POOL SAFETY NONCONFORMITY NOTICE is issued you have 90 days to rectify the issues so that a pool safety certificate can be given, or you may notify the buyer that you have a nonconformity notice and negotiate who is to rectify the issues. In this case you must also complete a Form 36—Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate. The buyer may want compensation if it becomes their responsibility.

You can sell the property without a Pool Safety Certificate, but we do not recommend this. If you choose this option, you need to complete a Form 36—Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate. It will then be the buyer's responsibility to organise a pool safety certificate within 90 days of settlement. Please consider that this may frighten buyers from your property as they will have no idea of associated costs to comply.

BUYING

• If you have purchased a property with a pool that has a Form 36—Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate you need to make sure you have a compliance certificate within 90 days of the settlement date.
• If the seller has had an inspection done and has been given a Form 26 POOL SAFETY NONCONFORMITY NOTICE, you might like to ask for a copy. This way will be fully aware, prior to purchasing, of what needs to be done to obtain a Form 23—Pool Safety Certificate.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have an inspection done and a Form 26 POOL SAFETY NONCONFORMITY NOTICE is issued, you still have 90 days from settlement date to comply—not 90 days from the nonconformity notice date. So, if you think it may not comply, do not leave it to the last minute or you may receive an infringement notice from the Pool Safety Council.

LEASING

You must only lease out a property with a pool safety certificate in place

If you are leasing out a property with a pool or spa, prior to a new tenancy, lease renewal or a change to the lease you must have a current Pool Safety Certificate in place. You are not able to enter into an accommodation agreement without one. Once a Pool Safety Certificate is issued it is valid for two years. You do not need to renew it if you rent your property out again while it is still valid.

NOT SELLING OR LEASING

Even if you are not selling or leasing a property, you must still ensure that your pool or spa is compliant with the current pool safety standards or you could face a fine.

SHARED POOLS

A shared pool is one that is accessible to residents of two or more dwellings. They are typically associated with apartment and unit complexes, hotels, motels, backpacker hostels and caravan parks.

Selling

If you own a unit or apartment with a shared pool, you can sell it with or without a pool safety certificate. However, if you are not providing a certificate, you must provide a completed copy of the Form 36-notice of no pool safety certificate to the buyer before entering a contract of sale.

Before settlement, you must provide a completed copy of this form to the owner of the pool (usually a body corporate) and the QBCC (poolsafety@qbcc.qld.gov.au).

The owner of the pool (usually the body corporate) then has 90 days to obtain a pool safety certificate.

Leasing

Before you enter into the accommodation agreement, you must provide a pool safety certificate or Form 36-notice of no pool safety certificate to the new occupier and the owner of the pool (usually a body corporate) as well as the QBCC (poolsafety@qbcc.qld.gov.au).

If a Form 36 has been provided, the pool owner then has 90 days from when they entered the accommodation agreement to obtain a pool safety certificate.

Expiry date for certificates

Pool safety certificates for shared pools are valid for 1 year from date of issue.