Boats for Rent

[Tuscan]

There are more and more adverts on social media of people looking for boats to rent, and some advertising that they are buying a boat to rent out.

 

Those that rent are presumeably at risk from an unscrupulous landlord and I imagine pretty ignorant of some of the more obvious safety risks let alone the CC rules . I can't see how CRT can police this.

 

How big a problem do we think this is?

[cotswoldsman]

It does seem to be a growing problem not sure how CRT can do anything about it until the boat maybe comes under enforcement if the guidelines are not being followed. Also more and more boats are appearing on airbnb for short term rentals

[oarfish]

This advert on Gumtree http://www.gumtree.com/p/1-bedroom-rent/looking-for-accommodation-and-a-unique-experience-have-you-considered-living-on-a-narrowboat-/1084053161 is a fine example. £1200 PCM in a reasonably new looking boat. This isn't some of the desperate poverty / chaotic lifestyle stuff that happens on the canal in London, this is well off middle class people knowingly taking the piss. Probably off somewhere sunny for the winter.

 

 

It’s a bit like parking a car so you never know in advance where you will find space but you MUST keep the boat on the Regent’s canal between Angel and Victoria Park.

 

I don't think it would bother me much if it wasn't for the fact it's CC in central London and they are trying to cash in on an increasingly bad situation.

 

 

This boat will make someone a great home for the winter. Yes, the boat is beautiful but this lifestyle is not for everyone. This is a also a great opportunity to join the London Boaters amazing community.

Edited October 13, 2014 by oarfish

[David Mack]

"Its a bit like parking a car so you never know in advance where you will find space but you MUST keep the boat on the Regents canal between Angel and Victoria Park."

 

I don't think it would bother me much if it wasn't for the fact it's CC in central London

Surely shuffling between Angel and Victoria Park only is CMing in central London.

[Lady Muck]

That boat has been on airbnb for ages now. So CRT will be aware. I don't know if they are refusing licenses yet, but soon as a whole load of ads are removed, a whole load more appear. Everyone thinks they're the first to have the idea. Many are new to boating and completely clueless to the point that their guests safety is compromised.

There are a few of these boats hogging the moorings in town, now.

[Sabcat]

That boat has been on airbnb for ages now. So CRT will be aware. I don't know if they are refusing licenses yet, but soon as a whole load of ads are removed, a whole load more appear. Everyone thinks they're the first to have the idea. Many are new to boating and completely clueless to the point that their guests safety is compromised.

There are a few of these boats hogging the moorings in town, now.

 

Boats lying empty people are trying to rent out or with tenants?

[Peter X]

An interesting excerpt from the Gumtree ad linked to by oarfish:

To secure the same spot for the whole season you can rent your very own Winter Mooring spot (recommended) £800 for 6 months. We can book this on your behalf.no

Is that really all CRT charge for a winter mooring spot in London? Bargain!

Sounds unlikely from what I've read of the prices London moorings go for at auction.

There appears to be no Norwegian website behalf.no, so perhaps the .no on the end of the sentence is like the use of "...not" in Wayne's World?

 

As was mentioned in the topic about the Guardian writer trying to rent a boat out on Airbnb, CRT added a comment to her article setting out the snags, so they are clearly aware of the problem and making some attempt to educate potential victims as to why renting a boat this way is not a good idea. There will be limits to the amount of time and effort CRT can devote to trawling the Internet, so I suppose the best CRT can do is to approach Airbnb and any other site carrying these ads to try to get them blocked before they go up, but the sites may not be keen to comply?

[Lady Muck]

This one always looked like more of a business to me. There are also a few that are for sale at such silly high prices, the owner thinks it's like a flat, they've done it up, because they've done that, they want a really over inflated price for it, will not budge, but of course no one is buying, still an old boat underneath, so they end up renting. I think most of the problems we get in London are down to people thinking boats are just the same as flats.

Might want to read this too....doesn't matter whether it's a boat or not, it all boils down to unlicensed, unregulated hoteliers.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/08/airbnb-legal-troubles-what-are-the-issues

Edited October 13, 2014 by Lady Muck

[Alf Roberts]

That boat has been on airbnb for ages now. So CRT will be aware. I don't know if they are refusing licenses yet, but soon as a whole load of ads are removed, a whole load more appear. Everyone thinks they're the first to have the idea. Many are new to boating and completely clueless to the point that their guests safety is compromised.

There are a few of these boats hogging the moorings in town, now.

 

A matter of time before the bad boys catch on and people return to an empty shed?

There will be limits to the amount of time and effort CRT can devote to trawling the Internet,

 

They don't have much else to do now they've stopped maintaining the canals.

[Markinaboat]

And another consideration is insurance. To be legally insured, you have to at least be a co-owner of the boat by way of a 1/100th share.