Thousands of people make their homes on Britain’s canals and rivers, but many residential boaters say they face mounting barriers to healthcare, basic services and legal security, with campaigners warning that unclear rights and patchy recognition are leaving a significant community exposed.
PRESSURE is growing on ministers to confront what campaigners describe as a blind spot in housing and planning policy and to recognise living afloat as a legitimate form of home.
Under the Inland Waterways Association’s secretariat, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Waterways convened recently to hear from a range of representative groups about the challenges faced by people whose boats are their main residence.
A major theme of the discussion was related to rights, and the meeting allowed groups present to talk about the specific issues faced by liveaboard boaters, thought to number about 50,000, though no official and agreed statistic exists.
Members heard from the National Bargee Travellers’ Association (NBTA) and the Residential Boat Owners’ Association (RBOA), after which a roundtable discussion was held with input from Canal and River Trust, the Accessible Waterways Association, the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) and the Broads Authority.
The IWA said the session demonstrated that while it may be easy to hold romantic views about life on water, the reality can be hard – from not having an address to registering with a GP, limited access to waste disposal services, and difficulties in obtaining pet and other insurance.
Ella Parry-Davies, of the NBTA, outlined that about 8500 boats navigate without a home mooring on CRT waters, but that the total population of boaters could be as high as 50,000. This is a diverse and often vulnerable community, she said, with significantly higher levels of disability than the national average. The RBOA’s Rex Walden described a wide cross-section of society living afloat, from retirees and young professionals to key workers, veterans and people in vulnerable circumstances. Both organisations claimed that despite this, boater recognition is hindered in policymaking.
The NBTA called for the protection of existing legislation and is opposing additional enforcement powers, claiming that inconsistent communication and a lack of transparency from navigation authorities exacerbated these challenges.
At the same time, NBTA welcomed recent signals from the CRT’s leadership which include a commitment to reset relationships with boaters and said it was positive that the number of welfare support staff had recently increased.
A central theme aired by organisations present at the meeting was the need for residential boaters to be treated equally to land-based residents, with stronger tenancy rights, improved legal protections, and inclusion in national housing and planning policy. On this last point, the IWA has been campaigning for government to include residential boaters in its National Planning Policy Framework.
Those present also raised concerns about stigma and mistreatment, with reports of verbal abuse and occasional physical incidents directed at boaters. A CRT representative acknowledged legislation ambiguity and the need for clearer definitions and safeguards, further explaining the need for the recent Report of the Commission on
Boat Licencing. He agreed that any new policy or legislation would need safeguards, checks, and balances.
Wendy Morton, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills and vice-chair of the Waterways APPG, commented: “This was an important discussion, and it is clear that more must be done to support residential boaters. For many, living on the waterways is their home, and they should be treated with the same fairness as those in bricks-and-mortar housing, yet too often, they face barriers and a lack of recognition in policy.
“I will continue working with colleagues to raise these issues at a national level, particularly the need to properly reflect residential boaters in planning policy.”
