Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In today's world, there's an app on your phone that can allow you to rent or buy just about anything. There's even an app that allows you rent your backyard pool to a neighbor or even a stranger.
Erie County officials are sounding the alarm on the illegality of apps and social media platforms permitting Western New York residents, specifically, to rent out their private pools and hot tubs to people an hour at a time.
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"Recently, apps such as Swimply, others, and more informal ways on Facebook, provide owners an opportunity to advertise their backyard pool for rent. I would never have thought of this, but it's actually happening," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz in a press conference Monday.
"There are a number of Erie County residents, as well as other Western New York residents, advertising their private pools, inground, above ground pools and hot tubs, to rent for parties and other types of occasions. We think it's very important for the public to understand that that's illegal in New York State and carries a lot of significant risk."
Poloncarz says this not only breaks the county's sanitary code, but breaks New York State law and you could be held liable for injuries that result of someone using your pool.
"You are at risk of fines of up to $2,000 per violation under New York State law. If you think 'I'm gonna rent out my pool and make 100 bucks on a weekend,' not only are you violating the law and at risk for a significant fine, you are putting yourself your family and others at risk in case something bad happens where your insurance company may not cover it. We want public to understand that."
Poloncarz references an incident in Rockland County, where a child sustained serious injuries after almost drowning in a pool that was rented out. The family filed a lawsuit against the homeowners, whose insurance didn't cover this type of "business".
Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein and Poloncarz remind the public that #1 cause of child deaths is drowning.
"It's important that the public understand that just because it's on the internet and says you can rent out your private pool, doesn't make it legal. We want the public to understand, before any bad incident happens here in Erie County, that this is an ongoing issue. We don't want to see our local residents be put in a bad situation because of a drowning," says Poloncarz.
Ray Caputo of the Wolf Agency confirms that you could potentially lose your homeowners policy for renting out your pool. It's contingent on the questionnaire that an insurance company uses, and most policies do not cover renting of pools, similar to clauses that some companies use with AirBnb's. However, some companies do allow renting out spaces if you have form of "endorsement."
"You may have an exclusion on your policy for taking business-related income," Caputo says. "If you're just borrowing it, and you're making money on it and you have a contract, don't assume the policy covers it. Read the policy, call your agent."