swimming pool

No – renters like owner occupiers will source out a house to suit ie some will want a pool others won't. Finding a tenant that will adequately maintain a pool may be a bit of an issue (I'd speak with a couple of different managing agents about properties with pools and whether or not you should have a rental with one). If the answer is they are a pain, how much will it cost to infill? Alternatively, how much will the local pool geek charge to come and do fortnightly/weekly checkups (incorporate these costs into the lease).

Speak to your insurance company if you will need to take out additional PL coverage or if this is covered within the standard building policy. (It shouldn't be a PL issue as it is up to the tenants to control who goes into their pool/property however it is best to be covered).

Zig,
I owned one with a fairly new pool for about 5 years until last year.  We had 3 different tenants in that time and for 2 we had a pool guy come in once a month and a pool lesson for the tenant when they first moved in.  We paid for this but we built it in the cost of rental.  We also only paid for the maintenance – not the chemicals. Our agent we had was on the ball and put this in the lease.  We also made sure we had motor burn out insurance which we used due to the pool filter blowing up.  I think this was the tenants fault for having the water level too low. 
I would check with the council about water restrictions in regards to the pool, because they do need topping up every now and again, and if you have to buy water this may be expensive- maybe you could put this in the lease too?  We got about $50 a week more for the pool, so we figured it was worth it.  We also had a pool that was quite young – 8 years when we sold, so maintenance was not a real issue.   When the pool man did his maintence it was in his contract to check the pool fences and surrounds too, so I figured if the worst occurred and someone drowned, we had done everything reasonable.  This allowed us to sleep at night.  The only other maintenance issue was during the 5 years we replaced the Cell twice.  They are around $300 each and last around 3 years or shorter if not cleaned regularly, or longer if you are a property investor with your own pool and want to save money.
 
The last tenant we had we negotiated a lower price because he had come from owning his own home with a pool and did not want the additional cost.  This dropped our rent by $10 per week – although we had increased it by $20 per week.  He also did not get the lawn service we were providing at our expense.  We had no real problems with the pool during this time. 
Good luck and don't be put off.  There will always be a market for pools, so I say why not, just factor in some small additional costs.
JL

We haven't had too much trouble with ours – and we do have tenants that you would think twice about this with. (share house – but the guys are quite responsible)

We were initially nervous so we originally factored in pool service and chemicals – but ratcheted this back to just providing the service monthly. If the right chemicals aren't available at the house, the pool company charges us and the tenants compensate. The pool company did directly bill initially but wasn't worth their while (understandable). It is a pretty rare event so works well.

The professional service is essential imho – about $60month. Unless you have really good tenants who you trust.

Hi – another option maybe to use the pool as a water tank and hook it up for garden watering or for use in laundry/toilets. You would probably be eligible for a rebate as well. Make you feel good about the environment. Plus reducing water rates costs for you or your tenant. Cheers

We own an IP with a pool on the Sunshine Coast Qld.

We have had no issues with it so far.  It is written into the lease that the tenant must supply a certificate from a pool shop before leaving to say that the chemical balance is correct.  So far our tenants have been happy to maintain it.  Naturally we pay for any repairs to the pump, filter, salt cell or creepy-crawly.

The only advice I can offer is to watch when leases expire.  We have found our best success is with leases expiring in January or August, and now insist on these months, which means a 5 month lease followed by a 7 month lease (or 12 months always offered).  After all, who wants a pool for a six month lease over winter?  Maybe if you are from NZ or Tasmania…..

We have found the pool to be a major drawcard, and never have any trouble getting tenants – not so much an issue these days with rental shortages.
Marg