A Pool Safety Certificate is the form required to prove that your pool fence is compliant with the latest Qld swimming pool safety standards. This is a requirement only when properties are sold or leased.
Your first step is to find out when you’ll need one and request a pool safety inspection if you need to get a pool safety certificate.
When A Pool Safety Certificate Is Needed:
You do NOT legally need a pool safety certificate to sell your property. However, if you don’t provide the buyer with a safety certificate you will be required to provide them with a FORM 36 as part of the contract of sale. The FORM 36 is a “notice of no pool safety certificate”.
This can be a big “Buyer Beware” notice to say you’re not getting a safety certificate, and that the buck is being passed to the them. This forces the buyer to obtain a certificate within 90 days of the settlement date…
It will usually be much more preferable to sell your property with a safety certificate on the pool fence to avoid potential buyers using the lack of a pool safety certificate as a reason to make a lower offer, or even as a reason to walk away altogether.
Buying or Selling a property with a pool or spa
If you’re selling its in your best interest to arrange a pool fence inspection, so you can get any non-compliant issues sorted out and obtain that pool safety certificate.
If you’re buying and the vendor does not have a current pool safety certificate, its even more important that you obtain independent advice from a professional pool fence inspector and make sure there are no nasty surprises waiting for you at settlement.
1. If the vendor doesn’t have a pool safety certificate then you need to find out why and find out if they’ve had a safety inspection already? If so you should try and get a copy of the report. If not arrange an independent pre-purchase pool safety inspection, this will let you know id there are any issues with the pool fence and give you some extra negotiating power when making your offer for the property.
2. If the property already has a pool safety certificate but you’re just not 100% confident that it complies… or you just want the peace of mind… arrange an independent inspection of the pool fence. Unfortunately certificates do sometimes get issued by inexperienced inspectors who tend to be in and out of the industry so fast that the home owner can no longer find them when problems are discovered.
Fixing a non-compliant fence can run into the thousands, so protect yourself and your investment is an independent inspection by a local licensed pool inspector.
If you’re leasing your property with a pool or spa, then by law you must have a compliant pool fence and a current safety certificate to show that it complies. There are no exceptions on this, so call us today to discuss your options.