Keep your residents safe by ensuring your pool is ready for summer fun and will be safe and clean for the hot weather. From standard pool safety to-dos like childproofing and ensuring drain covers, to unique ideas like hosting swim lessons on-site, there are a lot of ways you can prioritize water safety at your rental property. These tips can ensure everyone has a safe and fun pool experience.
Keeping your residents safe is of the utmost priority for a landlord or property manager, and with summer in full swing, pool safety should be on your mind.
A resident swimming pool can add value and entertainment to your existing offerings and is an often sought-after amenity among renters. However, as fun as a pool can be, maintaining it is not all fun and games.
It is vital to provide safety for residents of all ages, but when it comes to pools on your property, young children are often the most at risk. Keeping your property properly childproofed to ensure that you avoid liability and follow fair housing guidelines extends further than your building’s front door.
Consider these key points when assessing your outdoor space for pool safety:
Drain Cover Compliance:
Install anti-entrapment drain covers to ensure you are compliant with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act of 2007. (An act named for a 6-year-old girl who drowned as a result of a hot tub drain suction.)
Offer Swim Lessons:
Keep your smallest residents safe by ensuring they have the skills to navigate the water. Host swim lessons at the beginning of the summer to add value for your residents & further ensure that children in your pool are safe. Whether you offer the lessons for free or have residents sign up and pay their way, everyone will feel safer knowing the youngest tenants in residence have been trained to safely interact with the pool.
Childproof
Fencing can be both a helpful safety tool and a safety hazard, depending on how and where it is installed. Pool fencing should be at least 4 feet high, with rails less than four inches apart to prevent climbing. Be sure to check local laws about correct pool signage; your insurance provider may also have specific requirements for pools.
CPR Training
Host a CPR course that residents can pay to join, and consider footing the bill for a few resident ambassadors to increase the likelihood that someone on-site can assist in an emergency before emergency services arrive. While you may not have a lifeguard on duty, knowing that a handful of residents are trained for an incident can be a helpful safety net.
Hire Out
Safety is about more than lowering drowning risks. Keeping your pool clean to keep residents healthy is also vital.
Consider hiring this task out, to ensure a job well done, without dealing with HAZMAT storage on-site. Screen potential vendors to find a pool management company that is properly licensed, bonded, and insured. This company can take the day-to-day load of pool maintenance off of your staff, and since they carry their own liability coverage, their insurers will absorb any liability that may arise from pool-related incidents, so you can breathe easy.
Summertime amenities are always a hit with residents, and from property BBQs to the perfect pool party, there’s no better venue for a resident event than right outside your tenant’s door this summer.
Keeping pool safety and summer maintenance on your mind and preemptively tending to any issues, will ensure that your residents can fully enjoy all that your property offers.
Originally published June 2019 and has since been updated
