How to rent your swimming pool in Spain to make some extra money

A swimming pool is a much sought-after commodity during Spain’s hot summers. Everyone is after one, whether they live here or whether they’re on holiday. It can make a huge difference to the quality of life during the scorching summers.

Surprisingly Spain doesn’t have many outdoor public pools and typically you need to be a member of a gym in order to be able to use one. There are some you can use for a daily rate, but generally these are quite high.

If you’re lucky enough to own a pool though, there may be a way to make some money on the side by renting it out.

Pool rentals have been popular in countries such as France and the United States for a while, but they really only became popular in Spain since 2020.

The first platform to launch in Spain was Swimmy. Others have emerged since such as Cocopool and Alkipiscinas, offering numerous pools in various locations.

How much can I rent my pool out for?

Prices are usually set per person per hour and vary widely. For example, some pools are rented out from €3 per hour, while others for up to €25 per hour.

For example, if a group of 10 people spend four hours, you could earn from €120 to €1,000.

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How do I advertise my pool?

In order to rent your pool out, you’ll need to join one of the above platforms and abide by their individual rules. You will need to provide information such as whether you will also be there, if they have access to showers, if your pool is kid-friendly and how the pool is maintained.

You can also add extra information as to whether pets are allowed or if alcohol is permitted.

Users will rate you and your pool just as they do with Airbnb apartments and depending on how popular it is, you can perhaps get more bookings and earn more money.

Is it legal?

This is a bit of a grey area, because usually renting a swimming pool to earn money, would mean that you would need to open a public-facing commercial activity, which would entail a change in land use.

But of course if you’re just renting your pool out for a short amount of time during the summer, you are not actually opening a permanent commercial activity.

If you do decide to rent your pool out on one of these platforms though, it’s important that you must comply with various requirements regarding capacity and behaviour, hygiene, and insurance.

This is because Royal Decree 742/2013 establishes the technical and health criteria for swimming pools, defining everything related to both public and private swimming pools. Public swimming pools are understood to be those that are open to the public or a defined group of users but are not solely intended for use by the family of a household or guests of the owner or occupant, regardless of the entrance fee.

One thing you must do in order to be legal, however, is to declare any earnings you make to the tax agency and pay accordingly. You can typically do this on your yearly income tax return, but check with your gestor (similar to an accountant) as to when best to do this.