Selling property
Selling a property with a pool in NSW
No certificate, no contract. And most pools fail the first inspection, so this is the job to start before you list, not the week the contract is being drawn.
A pool is the single most common reason a contract for sale sits unfinished in our office. The seller books the agent, the agent wants the contract on the market this week, and then someone asks about the pool certificate. The inspection is two weeks away, the fence fails, the gate needs replacing, and the property cannot go on the market until it is sorted. None of that is a surprise if you start early. All of it is a problem if you start late.
At a glance
- Every pool or spa that can hold 30cm or more of water must be on the NSW Swimming Pool Register. Registration is free.
- Since 29 April 2016, a contract for sale of a property with a pool must have a certificate of compliance, a certificate of non compliance, or a relevant occupation certificate less than three years old together with the certificate of registration.
- If none of those is attached, the buyer can rescind the contract within 14 days of exchange, unless settlement has already happened.
- A certificate of compliance is valid for three years. A certificate of non compliance is valid for twelve months.
- Councils are capped at $150 for the first inspection and $100 for a reinspection. Private certifiers set their own fee and are usually faster.
- Lots in a strata or community scheme of more than two lots are exempt, as are off the plan contracts.
The short answer
If you are selling a property with a pool or an outdoor spa, tell us at the very start of the matter, before the agent starts pushing for a contract. We cannot issue a compliant contract without one of the prescribed pool documents attached, and the one you want is a certificate of compliance.
The reason to start early is not paperwork. It is that the inspection almost never passes first go. Gate self closers, gaps under fences, climbable objects near the barrier, a faded resuscitation sign: these are cheap to fix and slow to organise. Give yourself four to six weeks and none of it touches your listing date.
In plain English
The certificate is not about the water, the pump or the tiles. It is entirely about the barrier. An inspector is checking whether a small child can get from your back lawn into the pool area unsupervised. Everything on the checklist comes back to that one question.
The three documents that satisfy the law
Only one of these has to be attached to the contract, and they are not equal.
- Certificate of compliance. Issued by your council or a private certifier after an inspection that passes. Valid for three years. This is the clean outcome and the one that costs you nothing in negotiation.
- Certificate of non compliance. Issued when the pool fails. It lists exactly what is wrong and, with it attached, the obligation to fix the pool passes to the buyer, who then has 90 days from settlement to get a compliance certificate. Valid for twelve months.
- Occupation certificate less than three years old. Relevant only for recently built pools, and it has to be accompanied by the certificate of registration from the Swimming Pool Register.
How to get it done
Three steps, in this order. Doing them out of order is how sellers lose a fortnight.
Register the pool
Registration on the NSW Swimming Pool Register is free, takes a few minutes, and is a precondition to any certificate being issued. It covers anything capable of holding 30cm or more of water, which includes spas, portable pools and inflatable pools. Keep the registration number. You will need it to book the inspection.
Self assess against the checklist
The NSW Government publishes a checklist that mirrors what the inspector will look at. Walk the barrier yourself with it in hand and fix the obvious items first. The usual offenders:
- A gate that does not self close and self latch from any position, including half open.
- Gaps of more than 100mm under the fence, or climbable gaps between vertical rails.
- Anything climbable within 900mm outside the barrier: pot plants, the pool pump, a retaining wall, tree branches, a stacked pile of timber.
- A barrier under 1200mm high.
- A missing, faded or out of date resuscitation sign. It has to be legible and reflect current guidelines.
- For a spa, a lockable child safe lid or a compliant barrier around it. One or the other.
Book the inspection
You can use your local council or a private accredited certifier. Where the purpose is a sale or a lease, the council has to carry out the inspection within 10 business days of your request. Private certifiers are generally quicker and cost more.
If you fail, you get a written notice listing the defects. Fix them, book the reinspection, and the compliance certificate follows.
Start the pool inspection when you decide to sell, not when the contract is being drawn.
What it costs
Council fees are capped by regulation, which makes council the cheaper option and usually the slower one.
| Item | Cost | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Registration on the NSW Swimming Pool Register | Free | Minutes, online |
| Council, first inspection | $150 | Within 10 business days for a sale or lease |
| Council, reinspection | $100 | After you have done the work |
| Private certifier | $150 to $400 | Often within days |
| Rectification work | $100 to $3,000+ | Depends on the contractor |
Council fees are capped by the Swimming Pools Regulation. Many councils take $250 up front and refund the $100 reinspection fee if you pass first time. Private certifier fees vary with the property, its age and the travel.
Rectification is the real cost and the one nobody budgets for. A self closing hinge is under $100. A new gate, a section of compliant fencing or moving a pump off the non climbable zone runs into the hundreds or low thousands.
You pay the inspector directly. It is not part of your conveyancing fee and it is not a disbursement we collect on your behalf.
Selling with a certificate of non compliance
This is the legitimate escape hatch, and it is used more than people expect. If the pool will not pass and you do not want to hold up the sale, you attach the certificate of non compliance to the contract instead. The buyer takes on the obligation and has 90 days from settlement to bring the pool up to standard.
Two things to be clear about before you take that route. First, it is not free. Every buyer who reads that certificate is reading a list of work they have to pay for, and it comes off your price in the negotiation, usually by more than the work would have cost you. Second, it does not apply if the certificate states that the pool poses a significant risk to public safety. In that case the council can order the work done, and the order lands on you.
A non compliance certificate does not make the problem go away. It just moves it into the price.
Buying a property with a pool?
Read the annexures before you get excited about the pool. Your first job is to work out which of the three documents is attached.
If it is a certificate of non compliance, ask the agent for the accompanying notice that sets out the defects, then get the work quoted before you commit to a price. That quote is your negotiating position, and the cooling-off period is when you use it. After settlement the 90 day clock is yours and so is the bill.
If no pool document is attached at all and the property clearly has a pool, tell us straight away. You have 14 days from exchange to rescind, and that right disappears at settlement.
Landlords and investment properties
The same rules apply to leasing. A landlord cannot enter into a residential tenancy agreement for a property with a pool without a valid certificate of compliance, or a relevant occupation certificate with the registration certificate. Note the difference from a sale: a certificate of non compliance does not work for a lease, because there is no buyer to pass the obligation to.
If you are buying an investment property with a pool and plan to tenant it immediately, that timing matters. Sort the certificate before you sign a lease.
Four mistakes we see
Leaving it until the contract is being prepared. The single most common one. Your listing date is now set by an inspector’s diary and a fencing contractor’s availability.
Assuming a spa does not count. If it holds 30cm of water it is registrable. An outdoor spa needs either a compliant barrier or a lockable child safe lid, and a portable pool in the backyard counts too.
Relying on an old certificate. Compliance certificates expire at three years, and one can also cease to be valid if the council issues a direction on the pool. Check the date before you assume you are covered.
Forgetting the pool exists. If the property has an unregistered pool that was never approved, you have a bigger problem than a certificate. That is closer to unapproved building works, and it needs sorting before the property goes anywhere near a market.
What we do and what we do not do
We tell you which document the contract needs, we chase it, and we annexe it correctly so the contract is not defective and your buyer has no rescission right. On a purchase we tell you what an attached non compliance certificate actually commits you to.
What we do not do is inspect your pool or decide whether your barrier complies. That is the certifier’s job, and it is the one part of this you cannot delegate to your conveyancer.
Selling in the Hunter or Lake Macquarie?
Tell us about the pool at the start, not at the end. Justin, Julie, Amanda or Nicole will tell you exactly which certificate your contract needs and get it moving while the photographer is still booking.
