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Put in a small spa or heated pool

If you are installing a small spa, hot tub or heated pool, you might need a building consent, a resource consent, or both.

Small spa or heated pool

A small spa or heated pool is one with a water surface area 5 square meters or less.

If the spa or heated pool you are installing has a water surface of more than 5 square meters, see Put in a residential swimming pool or large spa.

You may need a resource consent to put in a small spa or heated pool

Depending on where you are, your pool's distance from the boundary and other buildings, you may need a resource consent.

To find out the rules for your area:

check the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan
check the district and regional plans
contact us.

You may need a building consent to put in a small spa or heated pool

If you are putting in a small heated pool like a spa or hot tub, with a water surface area 5m2 or less, then a building consent may be required for the pool barrier.

Building consent exemption for residential small heated pools with a safety cover or lockable lid

If you install a safety cover or lockable lid, then the pool barrier may be exempt from a building consent.

However, the following requirements must still be met:

the top surface of the pool wall must not be less than 760mm above the ground level or adjacent floor.
the outside pool wall must be non-climbable
safety covers must:

comply with Building Code clause F9.3.5
restrict the entry of young children (i.e. under five years of age) when closed
be capable of withstanding a reasonable load to ensure the cover won't collapse under the weight of a young child
readily return to the closed position
have a sign showing its child safety features.

Where a small heated pool has a safety cover, it does not need to be inspected every three years.

Small heated pool on top of or inserted in your deck

If you are putting in a small heated pool:

on top of an existing deck, you are responsible for ensuring the deck is structurally sound and can carry the weight of the pool
into an existing deck, you may need a building consent for changing the structure of the deck.

If you are putting in a new deck and the fall height is greater than 1.5m, you will need a building consent for the deck. If the ground level is sloping, you need to take this into consideration.