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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Building Act 2004

Building - Special provisions for residential pools

162C: Residential pools must have means of restricting access

You could also call this:

“Swimming pools at homes need fences or barriers to keep young kids safe”

If you have a residential pool that has water in it, you need to make sure it has physical barriers to stop children under 5 years old from getting in without an adult watching them. These barriers must follow the rules in the building code. The rules that apply are either the current ones or the ones that were in place when the pool was built (if it was after 1 September 1987).

For small heated pools, you only need to have barriers when the pool isn’t being used.

Several people are responsible for making sure these rules are followed. This includes the pool owner, the person who runs the pool, the person who owns the land where the pool is, and the person living on the property with the pool. If someone is buying the pool through a hire purchase agreement, they’re also responsible. If the pool is being leased, the person leasing it is responsible too.

If you want to know more about hire purchase agreements, you can check the Income Tax Act 2007. For information about leases, you can look at the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7084102.

Topics:
Housing and property > Home safety and repairs
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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162B: Application of subpart, or

“This part tells us which pools need to follow special rules based on how deep they are.”

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162D: Periodic inspections of residential pools, or

“Home swimming pools must be checked regularly to make sure they have safe fences or barriers”

Part 2 Building
Special provisions for residential pools

162CResidential pools must have means of restricting access

  1. Every residential pool that is filled or partly filled with water must have physical barriers that restrict access to the pool by unsupervised children under 5 years of age.

  2. The means of restricting access referred to in subsection (1) must comply with the requirements of the building code—

  3. that are in force; or
    1. that were in force when the pool was constructed, erected, or installed (after 1 September 1987) and in respect of which a building consent, code compliance certificate, or certificate of acceptance was issued (in relation to the means of restricting access to the pool).

      1. In the case of a small heated pool, the means of restricting access referred to in subsection (1) need only restrict access to the pool when the pool is not in use.

      2. The following persons must ensure compliance with this section:

      3. the owner of the pool:
        1. the pool operator:
          1. the owner of the land on which the pool is situated:
            1. the occupier of the property in or on which the pool is situated:
              1. if the pool is subject to a hire purchase agreement (as that term is defined in the Income Tax Act 2007), the purchaser of the pool:
                1. if the pool is on premises that are not subject to a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 but the pool is subject to a lease or is part of premises subject to a lease, the lessee of the pool or the premises.

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                  Notes
                  • Section 162C: inserted, on , by section 10 of the Building (Pools) Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 71).