Pool safety laws affect contracts of sale. If you bought or sold a property with a pool on or after 1 December 2010, the information below applies to you.

Before entering a contract

If no pool safety certificate is in effect, before entering into a contract of sale for a property with a pool, the seller must give the prospective purchaser a Notice of no pool safety certificate - form 36 ( 59 KB).

Form 36 advises that the pool may not comply and the steps the purchaser or pool owner must take to ensure the pool complies. The form is also intended to help prospective purchasers make a more informed decision about purchasing the property.

Before settlement

If a pool safety certificate is in effect before settlement, the seller must give the buyer a copy of the certificate.

If a pool safety certificate is not in effect before settlement, the owner must give the purchaser a Notice of no pool safety certificate - Form 36 with the settlement date on the form. A copy of the form must also be sent to the department. For shared pools, a copy must also be given to the body corporate.

After settlement

For non-shared pools, if a certificate is not in effect before settlement, the purchaser has 90 days from settlement to obtain a pool safety certificate.

For shared pools, if a pool safety certificate is not in effect before settlement, the pool owner, usually the body corporate, has 90 days from settlement to obtain a pool safety certificate. However, for settlements occurring on or before 1 September 2012, a phase in period applies—the pool owner has until 30 November 2012 to obtain a pool safety certificate for the pool.

Auctions

If a property with a pool is being sold at auction and no pool safety certificate is in effect, the owner or their agent (e.g. auctioneer, real estate agent, etc.) must ensure that copies of Notice of no pool safety certificate - Form 36 are given to the prospective purchaser/s before entering into a contract of sale.

For more information about the new pool laws relating to selling a property with a pool, refer to the selling a property with a pool fact sheet ( 193 KB)

Validity of pool safety certificates

Pool safety certificates are valid from the date of issue for:

• two years for non-shared pools
• one year for shared pools.