Florida legislators have proposed a pair of laws that would impose poolsafety regulations on rental homes. The proposals are part of a broader water-safety effort across the state — including drowning-prevention education, updated pool-safety rules when homes with pools are sold or transferred, and new requirements for rental properties that feature swimming pools.
Senate Bill 608 — Short-term (Vacation) Rentals Senate Bill 608, introduced by state Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, creates a new statutory requirement for licensed vacation rentals. If a property is licensed (or seeking a license) as a short-term rental and has a residential pool, the owner must install at least one “pool safety feature.” Under the bill’s language, licensees who do not comply are subject to license suspension, revocation, or fines.
If passed, the bill would take effect July 1, 2026.
The required safety features would be those defined under the existing pool-safety law — for example: exit alarms on doors/windows giving access to the pool, safety covers, pool water alarms, self-latching doors, or barrier fences.
This means that short-term vacation rental operators will need to ensure safety compliance as part of their licensing or license-renewal process — regardless of when the pool was built.
Senate Bill 658 — Long-Term or Other Residential Rentals (and Vacation Rentals too) introduced by senator Danny Burgess, would amend the state’s landlord-tenant statute (and related lodging statutes) to require that “certain rental properties” — including those with swimming pools or other water bodies — be equipped with specific water-safety features.
For licensed vacation-rental lodging establishments, SB 658 would also require safety features — similar to SB 608 — when a pool or water body is within 150 feet of a rental unit.
Violations would carry criminal penalties (second-degree misdemeanors), although there are exceptions — for example, if a safety feature is removed by a tenant or guest without the landlord’s knowledge; and if the landlord remedies the issue within 45 days after learning about it.
As introduced, SB 658 is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026.
Supporters say these bills come in response to growing evidence of child drownings tied to rental properties. State data show that Florida continues to experience one of the highest child-drowning rates in the United States.
There is also concern that existing laws — which require safety features for pools built after 2000 — leave many older pools unprotected. The new bills aim to close that gap, especially for properties being rented or sold.
The bills would place responsibility for compliance on the owners/ operators/landlords of the rental units.
Practical questions remain, such as how inspections will be carried out, how compliance will be documented, who pays for retrofits or upgrades (especially for older properties), and how landlords or vacation-rental operators will be notified or certified as compliant.
There could be pushback from landlords, real-estate interests, or vacation-rental operators citing cost, burden, or enforcement difficulties — especially where pools have existed for decades without past requirement for safety updates.
There is also the question of how these bills intersect with local ordinances: state-level requirements may set a floor, but local governments might adopt additional safety or permitting rules (or they might resist preemption concerns).
The tandem filing of SB 608 and SB 658 shifts the approach from a focus on new or recently built pools to one that would impose statewide, acrossthe- board pool-safety obligations for rental properties, whether shortterm vacation homes or long-term residential rentals.
