Wisconsin backs down on regulating swimming pool rental app

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin regulators have backed down on requirements that operators of a startup that allows private homeowners to rent their swimming pools by the hour said would kill their business. Wisconsin regulators told Swimply in April that pools offered for rent would have to be treated the same as large, public swimming pools. That meant a pool’s owner would have to obtain a license and meet tougher construction requirements. But on Friday, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection notified attorneys for Swimply that most pools offered for rent would not have to meet those higher standards. Wisconsin was the first state to push back against Swimply, which started in 2018 with four pools in New Jersey but has taken off during the pandemic.