How Does the California Pool Safety Act Impact Real Estate Transactions?

San Fernando Valley Real Estate Podcast with Scott Himelstein

How does the California Pool Safety Act affect the home buying process? Keith Morgan from Property Inspection Consultants is here to help me explain.

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I hope you all had a happy holiday season. Today, I’m joined by Keith Morgan from Property Inspection Consultants to discuss the California Pool Safety Act and how it affects buyers and sellers.

These changes were made on October 11, 2011, when Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 442 into law. This law modifies the business professionals code as it applies to the home inspection profession.

At this point, any time a home inspector conducts an inspection of a single-family residence that has a pool on the property, that inspector has to identify a certain number of pool safety access provisions. It doesn’t matter whether the home inspector conducts an investigation of the pool in addition to the home inspection or not. A minimum of two safety items must be included on the home inspection report in order to pass the general home inspection.

This law is in place to prevent as many child drowning deaths as possible.

Here are seven possible safety items that could be included in the home inspection report:

1. An enclosure that isolates the swimming pool or spa from the private single-family home, i.e., a fence or wall.
2. Removable mesh fencing.
3. An approved safety pool cover that prevents someone from entering the water. These are not the same as pool heating covers, which offer no safety protection.
4. Exit alarms on the private single-family home’s doors that provide direct access to the swimming pool or spa. A typical home security system does satisfy this requirement.
5. A self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor on the doors providing direct access to the swimming pool or spa.
6. An alarm that, when placed in a swimming pool or spa, will sound upon detection of an accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water.
7. Other means of protection verified by ASTM or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

It is the inspector’s job to point out these items and let you know which safety features are available for the pool.

If you are a homebuyer looking at properties with pools, make sure that you work with an inspector who is aware of and conversant with the new requirements. This law does not require you to make corrections or upgrades. You simply need to be aware of the pool’s safety features.

At the end of the day, the California Pool Safety Act is there to prevent as many child-drowning deaths as possible.

Thank you to Keith for stopping by today. If you have any questions for him, you can give him a call at [phone].

As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!