Florida Statutes 515.27 – Residential swimming pool safety feature options; penalties
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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(1) In order to pass final inspection and receive a certificate of completion, a residential swimming pool must meet at least one of the following requirements relating to pool safety features:
For details, see Fla. Stat. § 775.082(4)(b)
(a) The pool must be isolated from access to a home by an enclosure that meets the pool barrier requirements of s. 515.29;
Attorney's Note
Under the Florida Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| misdemeanor of the second degree | up to 60 days | up to $500 |
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 515.27
- Approved safety pool cover: means a manually or power-operated safety pool cover that meets all of the performance standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) in compliance with standard F1346-91. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Barrier: means a fence, dwelling wall, or nondwelling wall, or any combination thereof, which completely surrounds the swimming pool and obstructs access to the swimming pool, especially access from the residence or from the yard outside the barrier. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- Exit alarm: means a device that makes audible, continuous alarm sounds when any door or window which permits access from the residence to any pool area that is without an intervening enclosure is opened or left ajar. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Residential: means situated on the premises of a detached one-family or two-family dwelling or a one-family townhouse not more than three stories high. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
- Swimming pool: means any structure, located in a residential area, that is intended for swimming or recreational bathing and contains water over 24 inches deep, including, but not limited to, in-ground, aboveground, and on-ground swimming pools; hot tubs; and nonportable spas. See Florida Statutes 515.25
(b) The pool must be equipped with an approved safety pool cover;
(c) All doors and windows providing direct access from the home to the pool must be equipped with an exit alarm that has a minimum sound pressure rating of 85 dB A at 10 feet;
(d) All doors providing direct access from the home to the pool must be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor; or
(e) A swimming pool alarm that, when placed in a pool, sounds an alarm upon detection of an accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water. Such pool alarm must meet and be independently certified to ASTM Standard F2208, titled “Standard Safety Specification for Residential Pool Alarms,” which includes surface motion, pressure, sonar, laser, and infrared alarms. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “swimming pool alarm” does not include any swimming protection alarm device designed for individual use, such as an alarm attached to a child that sounds when the child exceeds a certain distance or becomes submerged in water.
(2) A person who fails to equip a new residential swimming pool with at least one pool safety feature as required in subsection (1) commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, except that no penalty shall be imposed if the person, within 45 days after arrest or issuance of a summons or a notice to appear, has equipped the pool with at least one safety feature as required in subsection (1) and has attended a drowning prevention education program established by s. 515.31. However, the requirement of attending a drowning prevention education program is waived if such program is not offered within 45 days after issuance of the citation.