Under the rules of premises liability, property owners in New York have a duty to those who enter their property to keep the property reasonably free from known hazards that could lead to harm. If property owners fail to keep their property safe or to warn of known dangers, they generally bear legal responsibility for resulting accidents on their property.             

   

A swimming pool in a property owner's backyard is considered part of their property. Therefore, a property owner may be held liable for accidents related to their swimming pool. While certain obvious hazards, like a slippery surface around the pool's edge, will not create liability for the property owner, other less obvious conditions can. For example, if it is not obvious that the pool is too shallow for diving or if there is some sort of hidden obstruction inside the pool, then failing to warn a user of the pool of the condition could make the property owner liable.

In addition to the duty to warn of dangerous conditions, a homeowner must comply with certain safety regulations when it comes to maintaining their swimming pool. Most importantly, residential swimming pools must be:

Property owners can also take some other basic steps to make their pool safer and reduce the chance of swimming pool liability. These include: