Inspecting residential pools
Residential pools must be inspected every three years
Territorial authorities are responsible for ensuring residential pools are inspected in a three-year cycle to check whether they continue to comply with the Act. Periodic inspections do not apply to small heated pools if a compliant cover is used as the residential pool barrier.
An inspection is required every third anniversary of when the pool received its code compliance certificate. The inspection must occur, at the latest, six months after that anniversary.
An inspection may occur any time before the anniversary, for example in order to manage the overall inspection workload, or in response to a complaint about a pool. For any existing pool, installed before 1 January 2017, this inspection falls due in 2019.
The following are available on the Legislation website:
Section 162D of the Act requires pools to be periodically inspected.
Section 219 of the Act enables territorial authorities to charge owners for inspections.
Building Code Clause F9 sets out requirements for small heated pools with a cover as the barrier.
Examples of when inspections are due
For pools that received their code compliance certificate on 1 March 2017, the third anniversary is on 1 March 2020. An inspection must occur by 1 September 2020.
For pools that received their code compliance certificate on 1 March in any year before 2017, the third anniversary after 1 January 2017 is on 1 March 2019. An inspection must occur by 1 September 2019.
Independently qualified pool inspectors may carry out periodic inspections
Owners will be able to choose who carries out the periodic inspections of their pool: either an independently qualified pool inspector (IQPI) or their territorial authority.
MBIE is responsible for ensuring that IQPIs are competent so that territorial authorities can rely on inspections carried out by IQPIs. MBIE will assess persons who apply to be IQPIs, and regularly review their performance.
IQPIs will issue a ‘certificate of periodic inspection’ if a pool is compliant. If a territorial authority decides not to accept the certificate of periodic inspection, they must notify MBIE within seven days of that decision.
Building (Pools) Regulations 2016 on the Legislation website sets out the ‘certificate of periodic inspection’.
Independently qualified pool inspectors on Trading Standards’ pool inspector website has more information.
Territorial authorities may inspect pools whenever necessary
Territorial authorities may inspect any residential pool, including a small heated pool, whenever necessary, for example after receiving a complaint about a pool.
These inspections can occur regardless of whether a periodic inspection is due for that pool.
Section 222 of the Act on the Legislation website includes powers to inspect residential pools.