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Landlords: Don’t Slip When It Comes To Pool Liability and Tenant Safety!

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<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b><&sol;b><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">When you’re investing in a new rental property&comma; or upgrading one that already has tenants&comma; pools are a tempting addition&period; They make a living space a great deal more attractive&comma; especially for families&comma; and justify a bit of a premium in return for your investment&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">As happy as pools make tenants&comma; and as much as they make sense from a financial point of view&comma; they can turn into a bit of a nightmare if you’re not prepared for the legal and maintenance requirements&period; Depending on your state&comma; pools are governed by some rather strict safety standards&comma; and you’ll need to protect yourself from taking on additional liability&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Installing Safety Measures is the Landlord’s Responsibility<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Many of the safety measures surrounding pools are designed to protect the children of tenants&comma; but it’s important to remember that your liability could extend to non-residents who manage to sneak onto the property to use the pool&period; The greatest risk comes from other children in the neighborhood clambering over or squeezing through barriers&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">The first two responsibilities you’ll need to consider are fencing and signage&period; These are the most important protections for both residents and you&period; Well-maintained physical barriers will go a long way to keeping children safe&comma; and&comma; when combined with clear signage&comma; will help prove that you’ve done your due diligence if any accidents do occur&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Generally&comma; fences are required to be gap-free&period; A common rule among state laws refers to no gaps that could allow a 4 inch sphere to pass through&period; The fence must not be climbable&comma; and there are generally regulations about height of both the fence and gate latches from the ground&comma; designed to prevent children from reaching anything they shouldn’t&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Federal laws require drain covers&comma; and you’ll find that almost all states require self-latching closure mechanisms on gates&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">On the <&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Kings III blog<&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&comma; you can find a list of pool safety and regulatory resources for landlords&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>A Well-Protected&comma; Well-Maintained Pool Is Good for Everyone<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">A commitment to preventing drowning and pool-related accidents isn’t just good legal and financial sense&comma; it demonstrates your trustworthiness to tenants&period; Taking safety and maintenance seriously is a commitment to the families that live on your property&comma; and the rewards go beyond reducing liability&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">A well-fenced pool prevents unauthorized access which will reduce not only the potential for accidents but for vandalism and damage caused by reckless behavior as well&period; Installing a cover and keeping filters maintained helps with the quality of the water reduces blockages and helps the pipes and equipment last longer&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">None of this should discouraging you from taking the plunge and adding a pool to your list of property assets&period; But it’s going to require some research right off the bat&period; If you’re purchasing a property that has one already&comma; you’re going to want to inspect the pool carefully and compare your observations to state and federal requirements&period; If they don’t match up&comma; you may want to re-negotiate your purchase&period; And if you’re building a pool from scratch as an upgrade&comma; make sure your contractors are savvy with all of those requirements yourself&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Ultimately&comma; the buck stops with you when it comes to pool safety&period; So take some extra steps to protect your tenants and yourself&period; Once you’ve done that&comma; you can be confident in your property and the value it adds to the families living there&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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