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Check if you need to apply or order before Friday 19 December 2025.
If you are installing a small spa, hot tub or heated pool, you might need a building consent, a resource consent, or both.
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, visit Put in a residential swimming pool or large spa.
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:
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.
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:
Where a small heated pool has a safety cover, it does not need to be inspected every three years.
If you are putting in a small heated pool:
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.
Visit the Building Performance website for information about F9 Restricting access to residential pools.
Pool and spa projects can have specific resource and building consent requirements, depending on their size and location.
We offer 15 minutes of free advice before you submit a consent application.
For more detailed help on the approvals you will need, contact us to organise a pre-application guidance meeting.