How do we hire a pool service company to maintain our HOA pool?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 11, 2026

How an HOA board hires a pool maintenance company: operator certification rules in TX, FL and CO, the scope, testing between visits, contract terms and a sample motion.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Write the scope before you ask for prices, and build it around the water log, not the number of visits. Ask at least three companies to price the same scope on the same bid form. Hire the one whose technician holds the certification your state expects, whose contract says who tests the water on the days nobody visits, and who will close the pool on the spot when something is unsafe. Then collect the certificate of insurance and a copy of the operator certificate before the first visit. Pool rules come from your state, your county or city health department, and your own governing documents, and they differ a lot. Treat this guide as education, not legal advice, and confirm the local rules with your health department before you sign.

What the law expects of the person who services your pool

Texas. A pool run for a property owners association is a Class C pool under 25 TAC 265.182. Rule 265.194(b) says every Class C pool must be maintained under the supervision and direction of a properly trained and certified operator. That person does not have to be on site while the pool is open and may cover several pools, but the association has to give the operator's name and contact information to its staff and managers, and to the regulator on request. Rule 265.194(d) lists the courses that count: Aquatic Facility Operator, Certified Pool Operator, Licensed Aquatic Facility Technician, or an equivalent the local regulator approves. In practice the service company's technician is usually that operator, so the contract should name the person. Florida. Section 514.075 lets the Department of Health require that a public pool be serviced by a certified pool service technician, and Rule 64E-9.018 does: anyone who services a public pool by keeping it clean and its water balanced must be certified through an approved course of at least 16 hours, with proof posted in the equipment room of each pool serviced. The same rule bars that technician from work that affects the pool's structure or equipment. Replacing a pump or heater, or draining the pool for a repair, falls under the swimming pool/spa servicing contractor license in section 489.105(3)(l). Plain cleaning that leaves the structure and equipment alone needs no contractor license. Section 514.0115(3) exempts an HOA pool serving no more than 32 units or parcels from state supervision except for water quality, so a smaller Florida association should still hire to the same standard. Colorado. The state pool regulation, 5 CCR 1003-5, defines a pool used only by residents of homes, condominiums or apartments and their guests as a private pool and exempts it. Some local health agencies add their own rules, so call yours. Even where no rule applies, require a certified operator in the contract. It costs a good company nothing and screens out the rest.

Write a scope a company can price

A one-line request for 'weekly pool service' gets you three prices for three different jobs. List the work instead. A scope for a typical 60 to 120 home association pool: - Visits per week in season and off season, with the days named - At each visit: test and record free chlorine, pH and cyanuric acid; skim, brush, vacuum and empty baskets; check the pump, filter pressure and chlorinator; walk the gate and deck and report problems in writing the same day - Alkalinity, calcium hardness and balance at least every 10 days - Filter cleaning on a stated schedule - Whether chemicals are in the monthly price or billed, and if billed, at what markup - Opening and closing for the season, priced separately - Response time for cloudy or green water, a fecal incident or a broken gate, such as 24 hours - A dollar limit the company may spend on repairs without written approval from the board's pool lead - Who keeps the water log, where it lives, and that the association owns it Use the Texas chart as a floor even outside Texas. It sets free chlorine at 1.0 ppm minimum, 2.0 to 3.0 ideal and 8.0 maximum, pH between 7.0 and 7.8, and cyanuric acid no higher than 100 ppm (Figure 25 TAC 265.193(c)). Put those ranges in the scope so the company agrees in writing to hold them.

Plan for the days nobody visits

This is where most HOA contracts fall short. Texas rule 265.193(o)(3) requires a Class C pool with no on-site staff to be tested for disinfectant and pH at least once a day while open, with each result written in the log. A company that comes twice a week covers two of those seven days. The rule offers one way around it: if an electronic controller records the chlorine or ORP reading and pH and sends it to the certified operator once a day, the manual test kit check drops to once a week (265.193(o)(3)(A)). Logs must be kept at least three years and produced within five business days if stored off site (265.193(o)(5)). So price three options on the bid form. Daily visits in season. Two or three visits plus a trained volunteer who tests and logs the other mornings. Or visits plus a controller that reports to the operator. If you pick the volunteer, have the operator train that person, and remember that Texas rule 265.189(f) requires anyone handling pool chemicals to have gloves, goggles and safety data sheets on site. Write down who covers the volunteer's vacation weeks before July, not during it.

Contract terms to insist on

Send the terms with the bid request so nobody is surprised at signing. Ask for: - The certified operator's name, certificate number and expiration date, with written notice within 5 days if that person changes - General liability insurance naming the association as an additional insured, plus workers' compensation or proof of a lawful exemption - Authority for the technician to close the pool immediately for a safety or water problem, post a sign and call the pool lead the same day - Written visit reports, with photos of anything broken - The repair limit from your scope, and written quotes for anything above it - A one-year term that either side can end on 30 days' written notice, with no automatic renewal longer than a year - Return of keys, gate codes, the log and any association equipment within 7 days after the contract ends Read the certificate of insurance line by line before the first visit. Our guide on how to check a vendor certificate of insurance shows what to look for.

Compare bids and check the technician

Put the bids on one sheet, a column per company, with rows for the monthly price, visits per week, chemicals included or billed, opening and closing prices, response time, repair limit, insurance limits and the operator's name. A low monthly price that bills chemicals at a markup can be the most expensive bid by August. Where a line is blank, call the company instead of guessing. Then check the person, not only the company. Get a copy of the operator's certificate and compare the name to the technician who will actually show up. Call two references from other association or apartment pools and ask three things: did the pool ever fail a health inspection, did the company respond to problems within the promised time, and did the invoices match the contract. In Florida, if the company will also do repairs, look up its contractor license with the state before you sign. Our guide on how to write an HOA request for proposal covers the bid sheet and reference calls in more depth.

A timeline and a motion

For a pool that opens Memorial Day weekend: - January: pull last season's logs, invoices and inspection reports, and list what went wrong - Early February: send the scope, terms and bid form to three or more companies - Mid February: one site walk at the pool and equipment room for all bidders - Early March: bids due; the pool lead builds the comparison sheet and calls references - March board meeting: vote, then sign - April: collect the certificate of insurance and the operator certificate, and set the opening date with the company Motion you can adapt: 'I move that the association hire [company] for pool maintenance from [date] to [date] at $[amount] per month, with chemicals [included / billed at the rates in its proposal], under the contract terms attached to these minutes; that [name], holding certificate [number], serve as the pool's certified operator; and that the pool lead director may approve repairs up to $[limit] per occurrence.' Add one sentence to the minutes on why the board chose that bid.

Mistakes boards make

Hiring on the monthly price without asking how many days a week the water gets tested. Letting the log ride around in the technician's truck, so it leaves when the company does. Assuming the person who cleans the pool can also swap out the heater, which in Florida takes a licensed servicing contractor. Handing the new company the gate code and never changing it after the old one leaves. Paying for a holiday weekend call-out because nobody had clear authority to close the pool. The closure clause fixes that last one. Keep the contract, the operator certificate and the log in a binder in the equipment room, where the next pool lead will find them.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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