Montreal-area woman shocked to find family rented her pool without her consent

A woman who lives east of Montreal in Repentigny came home to a pool party on Sunday after a family of five had rented it on the Swimply app without the consent of the homeowner.

Repentigny resident Maryse Chaussé said she found a couple and their three children in her backyard after they had rented the pool on the mobile app, which lets users rent pools by the hour.

"We arrived and there was a car in the parking spot," Chaussé told Noovo Info. "There was a little family swimming in the pool, with three cute little girls."

It is not the first time this has happened. NBC Los Angeles reported in May that someone posted a Santa Barbara man's backyard pool on the app to pocket the fee, about a week after he put his house on the market.

The couple explained to Chaussé that they paid around $35 for use of the pool.

A Repentigny woman's pool was listed on the Swimply app without her consent and she came home to find a family of five using it. (Source: Maryse Chaussé) Chaussé told Noovo Info that she recognized the woman who posted the rental as a former tenant who moved out around 2022.

She's now wondering if this is the first time strangers have been taking a dip in her pool when she's not home.

"Is this the first time she's done this? I can't say. We're not always at home," she said.

A backyard swimming pool listed on the Swimply app was done so without the consent of the woman who lives in the home. (Maryse Chaussé)

The listing said that parties are not allowed, but that loud music, smoking and alcohol were OK. Pets are allowed, but owners must clean up after them.

The ad disappeared from the Swimply app after Chaussé reported it.

She is concerned that the situation could have been worse.

"The ladder was removed because I had just done a major cleaning in the pool and they put it back," she said, adding that she could have done a chemical treatment in the morning that the family would not have known about.

Dos and don'ts for the swimming pool that was posted for rental on Swimply without the homeowner's consent. (Maryse Chaussé)

She contacted Repentigny police but was told there was nothing she could do as there was no criminal intent on the part of the family that was using her pool.

She is now considering installing a locked fence to completely block access to her yard.

The Quebec residential swimming pool safety regulation says that "a swimming pool must be surrounded by an enclosure to restrict access." The enclosure must be 1.2 metres tall, with no opened parts or areas that can be climbed.

In an email to CTV News, Swimply said: "The trust and safety of our community is paramount. We are committed to creating a secure environment for both Guests and Hosts," adding the company "has a robust system in place to prevent, detect, and respond to fraudulent activities."

Chaussé had some advice to pool owners.

"Make sure you have 100 per cent faith -- and fences. And lock the door," she said.

With reporting from Noovo Info journalist Emilie Clavel and CTV News Montreal's Christine Long.