Houston County, GA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

The Comprehensive Land Development Regulations list a home swimming pool as a permitted accessory use in the county's residential zoning districts, but only on conditions spelled out in the district's use table. 2(3) permits a home swimming pool provided the location is not closer than ten feet to any property line and the pool is enclosed by a wall or fence at least four feet in height, and provided approval from the Houston County Health Department has been obtained. 2(3), so the standard is not unique to R-1; it is the county's baseline rule for a home pool built in unincorporated Houston County's residential zoning districts.

The regulation does not distinguish between in-ground and above-ground pools, nor does it specify gate hardware such as self-closing or self-latching devices, so any enclosing wall or fence that reaches the four-foot minimum height and keeps the pool ten feet clear of the lot line satisfies the zoning text; other applicable building or health code provisions can still layer on additional requirements. Because pool approval runs through the Houston County Health Department rather than only the Building Inspection Department, homeowners installing a pool need sign-off from that agency before the accessory use is considered permitted under the district's use table, separate from any building permit needed for the pool structure itself.