Buying a Home With a Pool or Hot Tub in the Lower Mainland

A pool or hot tub adds things to check when you buy a house or townhouse: equipment a general home inspection may not cover, permits, fence and cover rules, insurance, running costs, and water use during Metro Vancouver's watering restrictions. Here is what I suggest buyers in the Lower Mainland check, how strata pools work, and what sellers should have ready.

The short version

What a general home inspection may not cover

Consumer Protection BC, which licenses home inspectors, says a home inspection is visual only, and the contract should spell out exactly what is covered. Common standards of practice, such as CAHPI's and InterNACHI's, don't require a general inspector to inspect pools or spas. I explain the rest in Home Inspections in BC.

So ask before you book, and consider a pool or hot tub specialist. InterNACHI's separate pool and spa standard, for example, covers:

• The structure. Interior surfaces, tile, coping, steps, ladders and the deck around the pool.
• The equipment. Pumps, motors, filters, skimmers, drains, valves and heaters, including heat pumps.
• The electrical work. Disconnects, timers, lights, ground fault protection and pump motor bonding, which connects metal parts together and to ground.
• Safety. Entrapment prevention at drains and suction fittings, and fences, barriers and alarms.

Even then, the inspector isn't required to find leaks in the shell, inspect buried pipes, test the water chemistry or run equipment that is winterized or shut down, so inspect while it is running if you can. Ask the seller how old the liner or finish, pump, filter, heater and cover are, and for service records.

Permits for the pool, hot tub and wiring

Each city sets its own permit rules for pools:

• Surrey. A building permit for a pool of 14 square metres (150 square feet) or more and at least 450 mm (18 inches) deep, plus separate electrical and plumbing permits where the work needs them.
• Coquitlam. Sealed structural drawings for an in-ground pool, and proof of electrical and gas permits. A hot tub needs no city permit but must sit at least 1.2 metres from every property line.
• Electrical work. Technical Safety BC says installing a hot tub needs an electrical permit even when a licensed electrician does the work. Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Maple Ridge, West Vancouver and the City and District of North Vancouver issue their own electrical permits.

Ask the seller for permits and final inspections, and check with the city. If work was done without them, my post on unpermitted work explains what that can mean.

Fences, covers and safe use

Pool fence rules come from each city, and the details differ:

• Surrey. Its fencing bylaw requires a fence at least 4 feet (about 1.2 metres) high with no opening over 4 inches, and a self-closing gate with a spring lock at least 3 feet 6 inches up that opens only from the pool side. Gates stay locked while there is water in the pool, and a pool cover doesn't replace the fence.
• Coquitlam. A fence at least 1.2 metres (4 feet) high, built so it can't be climbed, with a self-closing, self-latching gate that opens outward.
• City of North Vancouver. An enclosure at least 1,070 mm (3 feet 6 inches) high with a self-closing gate.

Check the fence and gates against your city's current rules. For hot tubs, HealthLink BC says to cover and lock the tub when it isn't in use, keep the water no hotter than 40°C (38.9°C if you are pregnant), limit soaks to 10 minutes and keep small children out. It also says pool outlets need proper screens, and you should know where the pump shut-off is. The Lifesaving Society's BC and Yukon branch says to stay within arm's reach of children, put children who can't swim in a lifejacket, secure doors leading to the pool and remove ladders when the pool isn't in use.

Telling your insurer

The Insurance Bureau of Canada lists swimming pools among the features your insurer needs to know about to estimate your home's replacement value. A pool or hot tub also matters for personal liability coverage, which pays, up to your limit, for injury or damage you unintentionally cause to others. Tell your insurer or broker about it before your subjects come off, so your quote reflects it. Insurers may ask about fencing, gates, diving boards and slides, and their conditions differ. I cover the basics in Home Insurance for Houses in BC.

Running costs and water use

• Heating. Ask what heats the pool or hot tub, and for a year of utility bills. Hydro-Québec notes that a solar pool cover curbs heat loss and evaporation, and that you use fewer chemicals with one.
• Chemicals. Health Canada says to test pool and spa water daily for sanitizer, pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness, use only registered products as the label directs, never mix chemicals, and store them in a cool, dry, ventilated place away from children and pets.
• The season. Ask who opened and closed the pool each year, and what it cost.
• Draining. Surrey asks residents to drain pool and hot tub water slowly into the ground, away from storm drains, which carry water to streams untreated.

Under Metro Vancouver's watering restrictions, pools and hot tubs can be filled or topped up in Stages 1 and 2, but not in Stages 3 and 4. Coquitlam suggests filling them before the restrictions start each May 1 and covering them when they aren't in use.

Pools and hot tubs in a strata

A shared pool or hot tub is part of the common property, which the strata corporation must repair and maintain, so owners pay for it through strata fees and the contingency reserve fund; see Strata Fees in BC. The strata's own insurance covers common property such as pools, the Insurance Bureau of Canada notes.

It is also regulated. BC's Pool Regulation exempts a pool at a single-family home or duplex, but not a common pool or hot tub owned by a strata corporation, so the strata needs an operating permit from a health officer, good for up to a year, must test the pH and disinfectant at least twice a day and must keep a written pool safety plan. Ask for the operating costs in the budget, the repair history, and what the depreciation report says about the pool, since it estimates the service life of common property over 30 years.

Selling a home with a pool or hot tub

Buyers will ask the questions above, so gather the answers before you list:

• Records. Permits and final inspections for the pool, electrical and gas work, service invoices, and the age of the main equipment.
• Safety. Fences and gates that meet your city's current rules, and a hot tub cover that locks.
• Costs. A year of utility bills and the cost of seasonal opening and closing.
• Disclosure. If you complete a Property Disclosure Statement, answer it accurately, including any problems you know about.

Questions buyers often ask me

Will my home inspector check the pool or hot tub?

Not necessarily. The standards many inspectors follow don't require them to, so ask what your contract includes. If the pool or hot tub is left out, book a specialist, ideally when the equipment is running rather than closed for winter.

Does a hot tub need a fence?

It depends on your city and the size. Surrey's fencing bylaw, for example, covers pools larger than 150 square feet and deeper than 18 inches, so check how your city treats a hot tub. HealthLink BC advises a locked cover whenever the tub isn't in use.

Can I fill a pool during Metro Vancouver's watering restrictions?

Yes in Stages 1 and 2. Stages 3 and 4 ban filling or topping up pools and hot tubs, so fill early in the season and keep the pool covered to cut evaporation.

Will a pool raise my home insurance premium?

It can, and your insurer needs to know about it either way. A pool affects your home's replacement value and your liability risk, and some insurers set conditions such as fencing. Get a quote that includes it before your subjects come off.

Does a pool at a single-family home need a health permit?

Not if it is for the people who live there and their guests: BC's Pool Regulation exempts a private pool at one single-family home or duplex. A pool or hot tub shared by a strata is covered, with an operating permit and regular water testing.

Getting ready to make an offer? Read about subject clauses, renegotiating after the home inspection and buying an older home.

This article is general information, not legal or insurance advice. The details come from Consumer Protection BC, published home inspection standards, the Cities of Surrey, Coquitlam and North Vancouver, Technical Safety BC, HealthLink BC, Health Canada, the Lifesaving Society BC and Yukon branch, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Hydro-Québec, Metro Vancouver, BC's Pool Regulation and the Strata Property Act, and were current at the time of writing; your city's bylaws and your insurer's terms apply to your home. For HealthLink BC's tips, see residential hot tubs and pools: health and safety tips.