Inspections by installation
Swimming pools in Spain: the State requires daily checks at public pools, not communal ones, and does not set lifeguards
The national rule is Real Decreto 742/2013 (the Spanish technical and health criteria for swimming pools). It applies in full to public-use pools: those open to the public or to a defined group of users, whether or not an entry fee is charged. Of a residents' association pool it requires only a handful of articles, and of a single-family home pool, just one. Lifeguards are not in the royal decree: each autonomous community sets them.
The short answer
If your hotel, campsite or spa has a pool, Royal Decree 742/2013 requires you to notify the opening, to have a self-monitoring protocol, to check the water every morning before opening and to have it analysed in a laboratory every month, to display the results and the rules of use, and to report serious accidents to the authority. If you are a residents' association, the national rule asks much less of you: water quality, its treatment, reporting incidents and part of the information for users.
The royal decree has been in force since 11 December 2013, and Royal Decree 3/2023 changed the staff training requirements and how the yearly data are sent. It replaced the 1960 and 1961 orders on swimming pools (sole repealing provision).
What the rule says: the four types
Aquellas piscinas abiertas al público o a un grupo definido de usuarios, no destinada únicamente a la familia e invitados del propietario u ocupante, con independencia del pago de un precio de entrada. ("Pools open to the public or to a defined group of users, not intended solely for the family and guests of the owner or occupant, regardless of whether an entry fee is paid.")
With that definition, Arts. 2 and 3 set out four types, and each one is subject to a different part of the royal decree:
| Type | What it is | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1, public use | Water is the main activity: public pools, leisure pools, water parks or spas | The whole royal decree |
| Type 2, public use | A service supplementing another activity: hotels, tourist accommodation, campsites or therapy pools in healthcare centres, among others | The whole royal decree |
| Type 3A, private use | Residents' associations, rural or agritourism houses, university halls of residence or similar | Only Arts. 5, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14(d), (e) and (f), unless the autonomous community requires more |
| Type 3B, private use | Single-family homes | Only Art. 13 (incidents) |
Source: RD 742/2013, Arts. 2 and 3. Natural pools and thermal or mineral-medicinal pools are excluded (Art. 3(4)).
The rule does not mention gyms, schools or restaurants. The type of their pool follows from the definition: if water is the main activity, type 1; if it is a service supplementing another activity, type 2; and if only the family and guests of the owner or occupant use it, private use (Art. 2(3)).
The holder is whoever owns the pool, a residents' association included, or whoever operates it if that is someone else (Art. 2(8)), and running it is the "responsabilidad exclusiva del titular" (sole responsibility of the holder) (Art. 4(2)). The holder notifies the authority before opening after construction or alteration works (Art. 4(1)), and records the self-monitoring, incidents, breaches and measures taken (Art. 4(3)).
What is checked, how often and by whom
| Check | What is measured | How often | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | All water parameters and, if indoor, air parameters | In the fortnight before opening if the water is not from the public supply, and always after more than two weeks closed | Art. 11(2)(a) |
| Routine | pH, residual disinfectant, turbidity, transparency, temperature and recirculation time; and the air, if indoor | At least once a day, in the morning before opening | Art. 11(2)(b) and annex III |
| Periodic | All parameters, in a laboratory | At least once a month | Art. 11(2)(c) and annex III |
| Yearly data in SILOE | The installation, treatment and sampling of the previous year | Before 30 April each year (public use only) | Art. 15 |
After two years of self-monitoring with no breaches, the holder can ask the authority to reduce the frequency of the periodic check (annex III). Each pool needs at least two sampling points: one in the circuit before the water enters the pool and one in the pool itself, as far as possible from the water inlet (Art. 11(4)).
The values are in annex I: pH between 7.2 and 8.0; turbidity of 5 NTU at most; free residual chlorine between 0.5 and 2.0 mg/L and combined chlorine of 0.6 mg/L at most; temperature between 24 and 30 ºC in heated pools, and up to 36 ºC in hydromassage pools; and no E. coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In heated pools with aerosols, Legionella must also be below 100 CFU/L. In indoor pools the air is measured too: relative humidity below 65 % and CO₂ no more than 500 ppm above outdoor levels (annex II).
The pool is closed until the values return to normal when the holder or the authority sees an imminent health risk; when the closure conditions of annex I are met, for example a pH below 6.0 or above 9.0, more than 40 ºC in a heated pool or turbidity above 20 NTU; and when there are faeces, vomit or other visible organic waste in the water (Art. 12(3)).
Who does it. Maintenance and cleaning staff who affect water quality need the training for their task (Art. 8), and whoever runs the water treatment programme, in-house or from a contractor, needs the SEA757_2 vocational qualification in pool maintenance, an equivalent professional certificate or an accreditation under Royal Decree 830/2010; the deadline ended on 2 January 2026 (third additional provision). The periodic check is analysed in a laboratory with a quality assurance system (Art. 9).
What paperwork is kept and what is displayed
The self-monitoring protocol is kept at the pool itself, available to maintenance staff and the authority, and covers at least the water treatment of each pool, its control, maintenance, cleaning and disinfection, safety and good practice, the pest control plan and the management of suppliers and services (Art. 11(5)). The authority can ask for it to include more parameters, more sampling points or stricter values (Art. 11(6)).
In an accessible and clearly visible place, the holder displays the results of the latest checks, with the pool, date and time of sampling; any breaches and the measures taken; information on preventing drowning and spinal and head injuries (and on sun protection, if outdoors); the chemicals used; whether or not there is a lifeguard and the phone numbers of the nearest healthcare and emergency services; and the rules of use (Art. 14).
Drowning, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, serious burns, electrocution and chemical poisoning are "situaciones de incidencia" (incidents) under annex V: the holder investigates the causes and puts them right, and the competent authority must be informed (Art. 13). This also applies to communal and single-family pools.
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
The royal decree does not require a lifeguard. It only requires users to be told about "la existencia o no de socorrista" (whether or not there is a lifeguard) (Art. 14(e)). How many, from what water surface and with what qualification is decided by each autonomous community.
Under national rules, a residents' association pool has no daily or monthly checks and no self-monitoring protocol. Art. 3(2) only requires Arts. 5, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14(d), (e) and (f): construction, water treatment, chemicals, water quality, incidents and part of the information for users; nor does it have to submit data to SILOE. But its water must still meet the annex I values (Art. 10), and the autonomous community can require the rest. The national rule does not say how long records must be kept either.
If the pool has jets, the Legionella rule applies too
Pools with water at 24 ºC or more and jets, air injection or water features are also in annex I of Royal Decree 487/2022 on Legionella. For their sampling, Royal Decree 742/2013 applies "salvo criterio de la autoridad sanitaria" (unless the health authority decides otherwise) (annex V, note 5, of RD 487/2022); that note does not mention the annex IV Legionella checks, such as disinfecting diffusers and nozzles every six months.
What depends on the autonomous community: the Andalusia example
The competent authority is the bodies of the autonomous communities and the local councils (Art. 2(11)), which may have their own regulations and ask for more than the national text. One example read in its official gazette: Andalusia's Decreto 485/2019 (the Andalusian technical and health regulation for swimming pools), in force since 1 October 2019, applies to public-use pools, to residents' association pools with twenty or more homes and to pools in social centres with vulnerable users (Art. 3(1)).
Será responsabilidad de la persona titular de las piscinas cuya superficie de lámina de agua sea de doscientos metros cuadrados o superior, disponer de un servicio de socorrista acuático con titulación cualificada correspondiente. ("The holder of pools with a water surface of two hundred square metres or more shall be responsible for providing a lifeguard service with the corresponding qualification.")
The same article sets the number: one lifeguard for a water surface between 200 and 500 m², two between 501 and 1,000 m², and one more for each pool or fraction of 500 m² above that, not counting paddling pools. It also requires incidents to be reported to the provincial or territorial office of the regional health department "en todo caso antes de cinco días" (in any case within five days) (Art. 17(9)). In other regions the figures may differ: check your own region's regulation.
What this means for each type of business is on the pages for hotels, gyms and residents' associations.
Frequently asked questions
Which rules apply to a communal swimming pool in Spain?
The national one is Royal Decree 742/2013, which classes a residents' association pool as type 3A, private use. Under national rules only Articles 5, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14(d), (e) and (f) apply: construction, treatment, chemicals, water quality, reporting incidents and part of the information for users. Each autonomous community can require more; Andalusia, for example, applies its full regulation to pools with twenty or more homes.
Is a lifeguard compulsory at a swimming pool?
Royal Decree 742/2013 does not require one: it only requires users to be told whether or not there is a lifeguard (Art. 14(e)). The autonomous communities set the rules. In Andalusia, Decreto 485/2019 requires lifeguards at pools with 200 m² or more of water surface: one up to 500 m², two up to 1,000 m² and one more for each pool or fraction of 500 m² above that (Art. 17(10)).
How often must pool water be tested?
At public-use pools, a routine check at least once a day, in the morning before opening —pH, residual disinfectant, turbidity, transparency, temperature and recirculation— and a periodic check at least once a month in a laboratory covering all parameters (Art. 11 and annex III of RD 742/2013). After two years with no breaches, the holder can ask the authority to reduce the monthly check.
Is a hotel pool a public-use pool?
Yes. Art. 2(2) of Royal Decree 742/2013 gives pools at hotels, tourist accommodation and campsites as examples of type 2: public use as a supplementary service. The whole royal decree applies to them: notice of opening, a self-monitoring protocol, daily and monthly checks, information for users, reporting incidents and yearly data in SILOE before 30 April.
When must a swimming pool be closed?
When the holder or the authority sees an imminent health risk; when the closure conditions of annex I are met, such as a pH below 6 or above 9, more than 40 ºC in a heated pool, turbidity above 20 NTU, or free chlorine absent or above 5 mg/L; and when there are faeces, vomit or other visible organic waste (Art. 12(3)).
What information must be displayed at a swimming pool?
Under Art. 14 of Royal Decree 742/2013: the results of the latest checks with pool, date and time; any breaches and the measures taken; information on drowning and injuries, and on sun protection if outdoors; the chemicals used; whether or not there is a lifeguard and the emergency phone numbers; and the rules of use. Communal pools are only bound by the last three points.
Where it usually applies
- GymsA gym: no national law; qualifications, insurance and notices under each region's sports professions act, plus low voltage, Legionella, pool, RIPCI and defibrillator as premises.
- HotelsA hotel: guest register and reporting within 24 hours, regional classification, low voltage and lift as a public-assembly venue, RIPCI, Legionella, pool, kitchen and defibrillator.
- Residents' associationsThe obligations of a Spanish residents' association: upkeep, reserve fund, owners' meeting and administrator under the Horizontal Property Act, building logbook, building inspection and the checks on each communal installation.
Other mandatory inspections
- Fire protection (RIPCI)RIPCI checks: quarterly by the owner, yearly and five-yearly by the maintenance company, records kept for five years and an inspection every ten years, with its exemptions.
- Self-protection planWho needs a self-protection plan under the Basic Directive in force since 11 October 2026, what it contains, how often it is reviewed and what the regions add.
- Low-voltage inspectionInspection by an accredited body every 5 years for the premises in ITC-BT-05 (bars, restaurants and hotels always) and every 10 years for residential common areas over 100 kW.
- Thermal installations (RITE)Maintenance company from 5 kW; contract, annual certificate and efficiency inspection every 4 years above 70 kW, with the minimum intervals of table 3.1.
- LegionellaWhat Royal Decree 487/2022 requires of the holder of business premises: a control plan, hot water temperatures, yearly disinfection, Legionella sampling and records kept for five years.
- Lift inspectionWhat ITC AEM 1 (Royal Decree 355/2024) requires of a lift's holder: a contract with a lift maintenance company, monthly servicing, a periodic inspection every 2, 4 or 6 years and deadlines for defects.
- HACCP (APPCC)What Article 5 of Regulation 852/2004 requires of a bar, a restaurant or an institutional kitchen in Spain: the seven principles, the records, the flexibility and what is no longer in force.
- Defibrillator (AED)What the Spanish national rule on defibrillators requires, and who must have one in Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country, with each threshold and article.