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Swimming
pools
A
new law will be coming into force in 2004 relating to swimming pools and
obligatory security measures to prevent children from drowning.
The new law applies to open-air swimming pools that are buried into
the ground (those which are simply constructed on the surface are not
implicated). From
1st January 2004, every swimming pool that is constructed will
have to have a technical document specifying that the obligatory security
measures (‘dispositif de sécurité normalisé’) have been complied
with. This
should be issued by the constructor or installer of the pool.
However,
those who already have swimming pools falling within the ambit of the law
must,
by 1st January 2006, have obtained a document specifying that
the required security measures have been put into place.
If the property is the object of holiday rentals, this must be
complied with prior to 1st January 2004.
The
regulation specifying the exact nature of the compulsory security measures
will be released shortly.
However, it would seem that the security measures will consist of a
barrier or fence around the entire pool of a height of 1 metre (taken from
the report of the Commission for the safety of Consumers).
The gate of the same should be child proof.
The
penalty in the case of non-compliance is a fine of 45,000 Euros.
It
is thus recommended to those who will construct swimming pools in the
future to ensure that the person responsible for construction of the pool
is aware of the new provisions and issues the document confirming that the
law has been complied with.
For
those who already possess a pool, it is suggested that you contact a
swimming pool specialist at some stage to ensure that your pool is in
compliance with the law by the 2006 deadline. Those who rent out their
homes on a seasonal basis should do this as soon as possible because their
deadline will be the end of 2003.
17/01/2003
- Legal update
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