CHAPTER 757. POOL YARD ENCLOSURES
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
TITLE 9. SAFETY
SUBTITLE A. PUBLIC SAFETY
CHAPTER 757. POOL YARD ENCLOSURES
Sec. 757.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Self-closing and self-latching device" means a device that
causes a gate to automatically close without human or electrical
power after it has been opened and to automatically latch without
human or electrical power when the gate closes.
(2) "Doorknob lock" means a lock that is in a doorknob and that
is operated from the exterior by a key, card, or combination and
from the interior without a key, card, or combination.
(3) "Dwelling" or "rental dwelling" means one or more rooms
rented to one or more tenants for use as a permanent residence
under a lease. The term does not include a room rented to
overnight guests.
(4) "French doors" means double doors, sometimes called
double-hinged patio doors, that provide access from a dwelling
interior to the exterior and in which each of the two doors are
hinged and closable so that the edge of one door closes
immediately adjacent to the edge of the other door with no
partition between the doors. "French door" means either one of
the two doors.
(5) "Keyed dead bolt" means a door lock that is not in the
doorknob, that locks by a bolt in the doorjamb, that has a bolt
with at least a one-inch throw if installed after September 1,
1993, and that is operated from the exterior by a key, card, or
combination and operated from the interior by a knob or lever
without a key, card, or combination. The term includes a doorknob
lock that contains a bolt with at least a one-inch throw.
(6)(A) "Keyless bolting device" means a door lock not in the
doorknob that locks:
(i) with a bolt with a one-inch throw into a strike plate
screwed into the portion of the doorjamb surface that faces the
edge of the door when the door is closed or into a metal doorjamb
that serves as the strike plate, operable only by knob or lever
from the door's interior and not in any manner from the door's
exterior, and that is commonly known as a keyless dead bolt;
(ii) by a drop bolt system operated by placing a central metal
plate over a metal doorjamb restraint which protrudes from the
doorjamb and which is affixed to the doorjamb frame by means of
three case-hardened screws at least three inches in length. One
half of the central plate must overlap the interior surface of
the door and the other half of the central plate must overlap the
doorjamb when the plate is placed over the doorjamb restraint.
The drop bolt system must prevent the door from being opened
unless the central plate is lifted off of the doorjamb restraint
by a person who is on the interior side of the door; or
(iii) by a metal bar or metal tube that is placed across the
entire interior side of the door and secured in place at each end
of the bar or tube by heavy-duty metal screw hooks. The screw
hooks must be at least three inches in length and must be screwed
into the door frame stud or wall stud on each side of the door.
The bar or tube must be capable of being secured to both of the
screw hooks and must be permanently attached in some way to the
door frame stud or wall stud. When secured to the screw hooks,
the bar or tube must prevent the door from being opened unless
the bar or tube is removed by a person who is on the interior
side of the door.
(B) The term does not include a chain latch, flip latch,
surface-mounted slide bolt, mortise door bolt, surface-mounted
barrel bolt, surface-mounted swing bar door guard, spring-loaded
nightlatch, foot bolt, or other lock or latch.
(7) "Multiunit rental complex" means two or more dwelling units
in one or more buildings that are under common ownership, managed
by the same owner, managing agent, or management company, and
located on the same lot or tract of land or adjacent lots or
tracts of land. The term includes a condominium project. The term
does not include:
(A) a facility primarily renting rooms to overnight guests; or
(B) a single-family home or adjacent single-family homes that
are not part of a condominium project.
(8) "Pool" means a permanent swimming pool, permanent wading or
reflection pool, or permanent hot tub or spa over 18 inches deep,
located at ground level, above ground, below ground, or indoors.
(9) "Pool yard" means an area that contains a pool.
(10) "Pool yard enclosure" or "enclosure" means a fence, wall,
or combination of fences, walls, gates, windows, or doors that
completely surround a pool.
(11) "Property owners association" means an association of
property owners for a residential subdivision, condominium,
cooperative, town home project, or other project involving
residential dwellings.
(12) "Sliding door handle latch" means a latch or lock that is
near the handle on a sliding glass door, that is operated with or
without a key, and that is designed to prevent the door from
being opened.
(13) "Sliding door pin lock" means a pin or rod that is inserted
from the interior side of a sliding glass door at the side
opposite the door's handle and that is designed to prevent the
door from being opened or lifted.
(14) "Sliding door security bar" means a bar or rod that can be
placed at the bottom of or across the interior side of the fixed
panel of a sliding glass door and that is designed to prevent the
sliding panel of the door from being opened.
(15) "Tenant" means a person who is obligated to pay rent or
other consideration and who is authorized to occupy a dwelling,
to the exclusion of others, under a verbal or written lease or
rental agreement.
(16) "Window latch" means a device on a window or window screen
that prevents the window or window screen from being opened and
that is operated without a key and only from the interior.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.002. APPLICATION. This chapter applies only to:
(1) a pool owned, controlled, or maintained by the owner of a
multiunit rental complex or by a property owners association; and
(2) doors and windows of rental dwellings opening into the pool
yard of a multiunit rental complex or condominium, cooperative,
or town home project.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.003. ENCLOSURE FOR POOL YARD. (a) Except as otherwise
provided by Section 757.005, the owner of a multiunit rental
complex with a pool or a property owners association that owns,
controls, or maintains a pool shall completely enclose the pool
yard with a pool yard enclosure.
(b) The height of the pool yard enclosure must be at least 48
inches as measured from the ground on the side away from the
pool.
(c) Openings under the pool yard enclosure may not allow a
sphere four inches in diameter to pass under the pool yard
enclosure.
(d) If the pool yard enclosure is constructed with horizontal
and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the
horizontal members is at least 45 inches, the openings may not
allow a sphere four inches in diameter to pass through the
enclosure.
(e) If the pool yard enclosure is constructed with horizontal
and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the
horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the openings may not
allow a sphere 1-3/4 inches in diameter to pass through the
enclosure.
(f) The use of chain link fencing materials is prohibited
entirely for a new pool yard enclosure that is constructed after
January 1, 1994. The use of diagonal fencing members that are
lower than 49 inches above the ground is prohibited for a new
pool yard enclosure that is constructed after January 1, 1994.
(g) Decorative designs or cutouts on or in the pool yard
enclosure may not contain any openings greater than 1-3/4 inches
in any direction.
(h) Indentations or protrusions in a solid pool yard enclosure
without any openings may not be greater than normal construction
tolerances and tooled masonry joints on the side away from the
pool.
(i) Permanent equipment or structures may not be constructed or
placed in a manner that makes them readily available for climbing
over the pool yard enclosure.
(j) The wall of a building may be part of the pool yard
enclosure only if the doors and windows in the wall comply with
Sections 757.006 and 757.007.
(k) The owner of a multiunit rental complex with a pool or a
property owners association that owns, controls, or maintains a
pool is not required to:
(1) build a pool yard enclosure at specified locations or
distances from the pool other than distances for minimum walkways
around the pool; or
(2) conform secondary pool yard enclosures, located inside or
outside the primary pool yard enclosure, to the requirements of
this chapter.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.004. GATES. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
Section 757.005, a gate in a fence or wall enclosing a pool yard
as required by Section 757.003 must:
(1) have a self-closing and self-latching device;
(2) have hardware enabling it to be locked, at the option of
whoever controls the gate, by a padlock or a built-in lock
operated by key, card, or combination; and
(3) open outward away from the pool yard.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c) and Section
757.005, a gate latch must be installed so that it is at least 60
inches above the ground, except that it may be installed lower
if:
(1) the latch is installed on the pool yard side of the gate
only and is at least three inches below the top of the gate; and
(2) the gate or enclosure has no opening greater than one-half
inch in any direction within 18 inches from the latch, including
the space between the gate and the gate post to which the gate
latches.
(c) A gate latch may be located 42 inches or higher above the
ground if the gate cannot be opened except by key, card, or
combination on both sides of the gate.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.005. EXISTING POOL YARD ENCLOSURES. (a) If a pool
yard enclosure is constructed or modified before January 1, 1994,
and no municipal ordinance containing standards for pool yard
enclosures were applicable at the time of construction or
modification, the enclosure must comply with the requirements of
Sections 757.003 and 757.004, except that:
(1) if the enclosure is constructed with chain link metal
fencing material, the openings in the enclosure may not allow a
sphere 2-1/4 inches in diameter to pass through the enclosure; or
(2) if the enclosure is constructed with horizontal and vertical
members and the distance between the tops of the horizontal
members is at least 36 inches, the openings in the enclosure may
not allow a sphere four inches in diameter to pass through the
enclosure.
(b) If a pool yard enclosure is constructed or modified before
January 1, 1994, and if the enclosure is in compliance with
applicable municipal ordinances existing on January 1, 1994, and
containing standards for pool yard enclosures, Sections 757.003,
757.004(a)(3), and 757.004(b) do not apply to the enclosure.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.006. DOOR. (a) A door, sliding glass door, or French
door may not open directly into a pool yard if the date of
electrical service for initial construction of the building or
pool is on or after January 1, 1994.
(b) A door, sliding glass door, or French door may open directly
into a pool yard if the date of electrical service for initial
construction of the building or pool is before January 1, 1994,
and the pool yard enclosure complies with Subsection (c), (d), or
(e), as applicable.
(c) If a door of a building, other than a sliding glass door or
screen door, opens into the pool yard, the door must have a:
(1) latch that automatically engages when the door is closed;
(2) spring-loaded door-hinge pin, automatic door closer, or
similar device to cause the door to close automatically; and
(3) keyless bolting device that is installed not less than 36
inches or more than 48 inches above the interior floor.
(d) If French doors of a building open to the pool yard, one of
the French doors must comply with Subsection (c)(1) and the other
door must have:
(1) a keyed dead bolt or keyless bolting device capable of
insertion into the doorjamb above the door, and a keyless bolting
device capable of insertion into the floor or threshold; or
(2) a bolt with at least a 3/4-inch throw installed inside the
door and operated from the edge of the door that is capable of
insertion into the doorjamb above the door and another bolt with
at least a 3/4-inch throw installed inside the door and operated
from the edge of the door that is capable of insertion into the
floor or threshold.
(e) If a sliding glass door of a building opens into the pool
yard, the sliding glass door must have:
(1) a sliding door handle latch or sliding door security bar
that is installed not more than 48 inches above the interior
floor; and
(2) a sliding door pin lock that is installed not more than 48
inches above the interior floor.
(f) A door, sliding glass door, or French door that opens into a
pool yard from an area of a building that is not used by
residents and that has no access to an area outside the pool yard
is not required to have a lock, latch, dead bolt, or keyless
bolting device.
(g) A keyed dead bolt, keyless bolting device, sliding door pin
lock, or sliding door security bar installed before September 1,
1993, may be installed not more than 54 inches from the floor.
(h) A keyed dead bolt or keyless dead bolt, as described by
Section 757.001(6)(A)(i), installed in a dwelling on or after
September 1, 1993, must have a bolt with a throw of not less than
one inch.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.007. WINDOW AND WINDOW SCREENS. A wall of a building
constructed before January 1, 1994, may not be used as part of a
pool yard enclosure unless each window in the wall has a latch
and unless each window screen on a window in the wall is affixed
by a window screen latch, screws, or similar means. This section
does not require the installation of window screens. A wall of a
building constructed on or after January 1, 1994, may not be used
as part of a pool yard enclosure unless each ground floor window
in the wall is permanently closed and unable to be opened.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.008. BUILDING IN POOL YARD. Each door, sliding glass
door, window, and window screen of each dwelling unit in a
residential building located in the enclosed pool yard must
comply with Sections 757.006 and 757.007.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.009. INSPECTION, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE. (a) An
owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental dwelling in a
condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a pool or a
property owners association that owns, controls, or maintains a
pool shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care to inspect,
maintain, repair, and keep in good working order the pool yard
enclosures, gates, and self-closing and self-latching devices
required by this chapter and within the control of the owner or
property owners association.
(b) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental dwelling
in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a pool
or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
maintains a pool shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care to
maintain, repair, and keep in good working order the window
latches, sliding door handle latches, sliding door pin locks, and
sliding door security bars required by this chapter and within
the control of the owner or property owners association after
request or notice from the tenant that those devices are
malfunctioning or in need of repair or replacement. A request or
notice under this subsection may be given orally unless a written
lease applicable to the tenant or written rules governing the
property owners association require the request or notice to be
in writing. The requirement in the lease or rules must be in
capital letters and underlined or in 10-point boldfaced print.
(c) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental dwelling
in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a pool
or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
maintains a pool shall inspect the pool yard enclosures, gates,
and self-closing and self-latching devices on gates no less than
once every 31 days.
(d) An owner's or property owners association's duty of
inspection, repair, and maintenance under this section may not be
waived under any circumstances and may not be enlarged except by
written agreement with a tenant or occupant of a multiunit rental
complex or a member of a property owners association or as may be
otherwise allowed by this chapter.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.010. COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (b) and Section 757.011, a person who constructs or
modifies a pool yard enclosure to conform with this chapter may
not be required to construct the enclosure differently by a local
governmental entity, common law, or any other law.
(b) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental dwelling
in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a pool
or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
maintains a pool may, at the person's option, exceed the
standards of this chapter or those adopted by the Texas Board of
Health under Section 757.011. A tenant or occupant in a multiunit
rental complex and a member of a property owners association may,
by express written agreement, require the owner of the complex or
the association to exceed those standards.
(c) A municipality may continue to require greater overall
height requirements for pool yard enclosures if the requirements
exist under the municipality's ordinances on January 1, 1994.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.011. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS BOARD OF HEALTH. The Texas
Board of Health may adopt rules requiring standards for design
and construction of pool yard enclosures that exceed the
requirements of this chapter and that apply to all pools and pool
yards subject to this chapter. An owner of a multiunit rental
complex or a rental dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or
town home project with a pool or a property owners association
that owns, controls, or maintains a pool shall comply with and
shall be liable for failure to comply with those rules to the
same extent as if they were part of this chapter.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.012. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A tenant of an owner of a
multiunit rental complex, a member of a property owners
association, a governmental entity, or any other person or the
person's representative may maintain an action against the owner
or property owners association for failure to comply with the
requirements of this chapter. In that action, the person may
obtain:
(1) a court order directing the owner or property owners
association to comply with this chapter;
(2) a judgment against the owner or property owners association
for actual damages resulting from the failure to comply with the
requirements of this chapter;
(3) a judgment against the owner or property owners association
for punitive damages resulting from the failure to comply with
the requirements of this chapter if the actual damages to the
person were caused by the owner's or property owners
association's intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent
actions;
(4) a judgment against the owner or property owners association
for actual damages, and if appropriate, punitive damages, where
the owner or association was in compliance with this chapter at
the time of the pool-related damaging event but was consciously
indifferent to access being repeatedly gained to the pool yard by
unauthorized persons; or
(5) a judgment against the owner or property owners association
for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 if the owner or
property owners association fails to comply with this chapter
within a reasonable time after written notice by a tenant of the
multiunit rental complex or a member of the property owners
association.
(b) A court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the
prevailing party in an action brought under Subsection (a)(5).
(c) The attorney general, a local health department, a
municipality, or a county having jurisdiction may enforce this
chapter by any lawful means, including inspections, permits,
fees, civil fines, criminal prosecutions, injunctions, and, after
required notice, governmental construction or repair of pool yard
enclosures that do not exist or that do not comply with this
chapter.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.013. TENANT'S REQUEST FOR REPAIRS. A tenant in a
multiunit rental complex with a pool may verbally request repair
of a keyed dead bolt, keyless bolting device, sliding door latch,
sliding door pin lock, sliding door security bar, window latch,
or window screen latch unless a provision of a written lease
executed by the tenant requires that the request be made in
writing and the provision is in capital letters and underlined or
in 10-point boldfaced print. A request for repair may be given to
the owner or the owner's managing agent.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.014. APPLICATION TO OTHER BODIES OF WATER AND RELATED
FACILITIES. The owner of a multiunit rental complex or a
property owners association is not required to enclose a body of
water or construct barriers between the owner's or property
owners association's property and a body of water such as an
ocean, bay, lake, pond, bayou, river, creek, stream, spring,
reservoir, stock tank, culvert, drainage ditch, detention pond,
or other flood or drainage facility.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.015. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. (a) The duties established
by this chapter for an owner of a multiunit dwelling project, an
owner of a dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or town home
project, and a property owners association supersede those
established by common law, the Property Code, the Health and
Safety Code, the Local Government Code other than Section
214.101, and local ordinances relating to duties to inspect,
install, repair, or maintain:
(1) pool yard enclosures;
(2) pool yard enclosure gates and gate latches, including
self-closing and self-latching devices;
(3) keyed dead bolts, keyless bolting devices, sliding door
handle latches, sliding door security bars, self-latching and
self-closing devices, and sliding door pin locks on doors that
open into a pool yard area and that are owned and controlled by
the owner or property owners association; and
(4) latches on windows that open into a pool yard area and that
are owned and controlled by the owner or property owners
association.
(b) This chapter does not affect any duties of a rental dwelling
owner, lessor, sublessor, management company, or managing agent
under Subchapter D, Chapter 92, Property Code.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.016. NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. The remedies contained in
this chapter are not exclusive and are not intended to affect
existing remedies allowed by law or other procedure.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 757.017. INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION. The provisions of
this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote its
underlying purpose which is to prevent swimming pool deaths and
injuries in this state.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.