Rights of Boat Dwellers Bill [HL]
House of Lords · Lords Chamber · 17 Jul 2026 · 11 speeches · Official Report
Second Reading
Moved by
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
That the Bill be now read a second time.
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
My Lords, I am grateful to the National Bargee Travellers Association and the Public Bill Office for their help in drafting this piece of legislation, which is long overdue and very important to those who make their homes on Britain’s rivers and canals. I thank those few noble Lords who are speaking this afternoon for taking part. The 2021 census counted 105,000 people living on boats and other mobile homes. Many living on boats did not receive the census information at all. They have no postal address and cannot receive mail in the way everyone else takes for granted. Housing law does not apply to boats. Boat dwellers who travel have no access to health services, as you need a permanent postcode to register with a GP. A marina or canal-side address is not accepted, and I will return to that. Since 2015, the Canal & River Trust has enforced a policy that pushes boaters without a permanent mooring to travel a distance and pattern that can cut them off from work, from their children’s school and from family. This goes well beyond what the British Waterways Act 1995 requires. For those with children-which admittedly is a very small percentage of boat dwellers-gaining access to education is problematic if they are forced to move on every 24 hours. I fear it is difficult to comprehend the Minister in the other place saying in December 2024, in answer to a Parliamentary Written Question: “Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible...
My Lords, I am pleased to speak in support of the Bill in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. I congratulate her on her exposition in moving Second Reading and, indeed, in outlining the rights and benefits as well as the problems. I have long taken an interest in this subject, since the decimation of the rights of people with houseboats at the club of the Chelsea Yacht & Boat Company along the Thames on Lots Road, and their subsequent attempts to try to seek justice and security of tenure against rogue developers and landlords. The Bill addresses the rights that we need to protect boat dwellers along the riverways and canals of the United Kingdom. During the passage of legislation in your Lordships’ House, I have tried to bring forward amendments to address these issues, particularly on the rights of access to public services and security of tenure for boat dwellers with permanent mooring and for those without. Sadly, I have been unsuccessful, and the Government have not been willing to address this in legislation-although they recognise the problem sympathetically. I was a little alarmed to learn that the Canal & River Trust had heavily lobbied civil servants when we were dealing with the Renters’ Rights Bill and my amendments. I was alarmed because it did not address their concerns to me, and, as far as I know, it did not address its concerns to all Members of your Lordships’ House but directly to civil servants. When we previously discussed this issue during...
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, in his long campaign on this issue. My noble friend Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville has long fought for those members of society who have found it hard, or impossible, to have their non-traditional homes recognised as a home, be they Travellers, Gypsies or, in this case, boaters. She has laid out extremely well why this Bill is needed. I lived on a houseboat on a rented mooring in the 1980s. Frankly, even nearly 50 years later, the issues have not really changed. My noble friend talked about how difficult it is to access services because a boat address is not recognised by many authorities. Clause 4 is absolutely key. Last year, the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, introduced an amendment to the then Renters’ Rights Bill on this issue and, on 14 May 2025, the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, who will reply today, mentioned a couple of points that are worth thinking about. First, she told the House that a boat is regarded as a chattel, not a home, so security of tenure is-I paraphrase-already in the “too difficult to consider” government box. Nevertheless, that chattel is someone’s home. The boat needs to be redefined; it is insulting to call it chattel these days when it is somebody’s home. She also mentioned the implications for the navigation authorities. The Canal & River Trust is well aware of the issue but has no duty to have regard to a boat being someone’s home. Then there is the added...
My Lords, I think I ought to declare a tangential interest, as my brother-in-law is a boat dweller. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, for bringing forward this Bill and for how eloquently she raised the issues faced by boat dwellers, supported by the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, and the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer. I do not think there is any doubt that there are genuine issues that need to be addressed. It is only fair and right that everyone in this country should have access to public services, whether it is medical or having the ability to vote, and so forth. Boat dwellers are a diverse community. For some, living afloat is a lifestyle choice but, for others, as has been mentioned, it is an affordable housing option in an increasingly expensive housing market-and we have discussed the housing crisis many times. Whatever their circumstances, many boat dwellers undoubtedly face practical challenges in accessing services. The principle that people should not be denied access to public services, mainly because they live on a boat, is one I think we can all get behind across the House. However-and I am sorry that there is a however-sympathy for the object of the Bill is not necessarily the same as support for the legislation before us. This House must ask not only whether a problem exists but whether the proposed solution is proportionate, workable and compatible with existing law. In that context, a number of provisions in this Bill raise...
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, for bringing forward this Private Member’s Bill. The noble Baroness raises a very important issue, which, as she knows, we have debated before in your Lordships’ House. The Government recognise the important role that the waterways play in enriching people’s lives by providing homes for those who live on boats. With the housing crisis that we are only now beginning to tackle, the option is being considered by more and more people. The Government are committed to tackling insecurities across all housing sectors, including boat dwellers. The question before us is about not only housing rights but the practical management of finite public waterways and the ability of navigation authorities to discharge their statutory responsibilities. The noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, referred to this. Several of the Bill’s provisions would substantially reduce the ability of navigation authorities to enforce licensing requirements and to manage the network fairly. While the Government accept the need for proportionality and appropriate safeguards, navigation authorities must retain the ability to deal with persistent non-compliance, licence evasion, unsafe vessels and potential obstruction of the network. To use a boat as a main and only home, the boat owner will require a licence, a mooring with planning permission for residential use and the agreement of the mooring owner. The agreement with the mooring owner will grant the boat owner a...
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
My Lords, I thank all those who have taken part in this very short debate, especially the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, for his expertise, as he has been dealing with this matter for a very long time. He is right that, when we tried to amend the Renter’s Rights Bill, it was said that it was just too difficult to do. There is a housing crisis and this is possibly part of the solution. The issue around flexible moorings, which the Minister referred to, produces the ability to evict, so it does not provide what we are looking for in the Bill. The fact that it is too problematic to do something is not a good enough reason for not taking any action. I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, who is right that it is about the rights of those who choose a different lifestyle. Sometimes it is very difficult for people who are following 99% of the population’s choice of lifestyle to accept that some make a different choice. We need to protect that, because if we do not protect minorities that diminishes us all. I was very interested in a boat being a chattel. My noble friend is right that it is still a home. It is not like a wine glass or a chair; it is the home, and homes are important to everybody’s well-being. You shut the door, and that is your home: that is where you feel safe. It does not matter whether it is on land or on water. Somebody said that the Canal & River Trust has different types of moorings. It has permanent and temporary moorings. That is good,...
Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
House adjourned at 2.46 pm.