A client received a breach notice of 14 days to remove a spa from the property she was renting. The spa was not in use, it had no water in it and it had a secure locking cover. The client wanted to know what her rights were as a tenant of a property. Does the client have to remove the spa from the property?

The Building Act 2011 and Building Regulation 2012 require two things where Pools and Spas  located on private properties are concerned:

  1. They must be the subject of a Building Permit issued by the Town to record their placement there.
  2. They must be serviced by a compliant barrier to restrict access to the pool/spa by young children.

In the case of point 1, any pool/spa, regardless of its form of construction (Note: this includes children’s pools purchased from retailers like Toys-R-Us, K-Mart etc), requires approval if it is more than 300mm in depth. Approval is even required if the pool/spa is not being used, is not filled, even when the pool/spa is only placed in storage on the site. The approval acts as a means to register the presence of the pool/spa on the site, among other things. Please note, when the pool/spa is being stored transitionally on the property for a short period with a clear intent that it is to be relocated to a more permanent location the Town has the discretion to not require approval, but it must be appropriately informed.

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