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Rent a canal houseboat

Sam0011

By Sam0011
in General Boating

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Sam0011 said:

Hi,

I'm about to rent houseboat , owner asked me to sign letting agreement that looks very strange. I never lived on boat before. Anyone can give me some advice pls?

see attached document:

 

Houseboat_Licence_.docx

I would firstly ask the owner a few questions :

1) Can I see the Boat Safety Certificate which is applicable for hire-boats ? (It should comply with the 2002 issue of the BSS Rules)

2) Can I see a copy of the insurance for commercial use of the boat ? - ie as a hire boat (The fact the agreement states it is a general purpose domestic insurance cover is worrying)

3) Can I see a copy of the C&RT licence showing it is a hire boat ?

4) Can I see a copy of the Landlords gas certificate ?

5) What security of Tenure is there ?

6) Does the boat have an authorised 'home mooring', or must the boat be moved to a new location every 14 days ? (to comply with licence requirements)

 

What you are trying to establish is :

1) Is it legal for the owner to actually rent out the boat (many are rented illegally)

2) Is the boat safe for habitation (many are not)

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GRLMK38 Community Regular

GRLMK38Donate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would suggest you seek advice from a qualified legal person that has an obligation to provide you with professional advice.  I would be seeking clarification that the Licensor has all the pre-requisites in place to make this a legitimate rent e.g. correct licence, insurance, entitlement to moor, boat safety etc. and how he/she will indemnify you for any failings in these areas.

If you are potentially contracting to spend a minimum of 6 months x £1250 (by invoking the get out clause), a couple of hours of legal advice might be good value.

 

+ all of the above stated by Alan

Edited by GRLMK38
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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted

It looks rather like an agreement for a house with 'house' replaced by 'boat'

Is this a boat on a permanent mooring, because I can't see anything that relates specifically to boats

Richard

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

What security of Tenure is there ?

It’s worth pointing out that in addition to the excellent points already raised, a 12 month contract with a 6 month break point is nothing more than a 6 month contract. 

A company I worked for once had a 5 year contract with ITV with a three month break clause. Sure enough, well within the 5 years, ITV ended the contract with 3 months notice. 

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Jess-- Rising Star

Jess--

Posted
Posted

this clause made my ears prick up...

Section H.

p. Not to do anything which would cause the Licensor to lose his Boat Safety Scheme Certificate or his cruising licence.

q. To comply with the relevant portions of the Waterways Code published by British Waterways and with the relevant portions of the Boater’s Handbook published jointly by the Environment Agency and British Waterways.

r. To ensure that the Boat is securely moored at all times and to notify the Licensor immediately if there is any doubt as to the security of the Boat’s moorings.

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Sam0011 Gongoozler

Sam0011

Posted
  • Author
Posted

home mooring, engaine removed.

this bit worries me:

 

"E. Type of License

This Agreement is intended to create a license for a moveable chattel and does not create a tenancy of any sort"

and why is called: Houseboat License not letting?

 

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Sam0011 said:

home mooring, engaine removed.

this bit worries me:

 

"E. Type of License

This Agreement is intended to create a license for a moveable chattel and does not create a tenancy of any sort"

and why is called: Houseboat License not letting?

 

Possibly because letting agreements apply to buildings not boats. As I understand it, your legal rights are different

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted
Just now, Sam0011 said:

yes, thx. If the license is not for commercial use (renting), what can happen to me? 

CRT will take action against the owner and you'll be chucked out is my guess. How long that process might take is anyone's guess

I'd start by checking the boats license as you seem like a cautious person.

Richard

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Sam0011 Gongoozler

Sam0011

Posted
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Posted
2 minutes ago, RLWP said:

CRT will take action against the owner and you'll be chucked out is my guess. How long that process might take is anyone's guess

I'd start by checking the boats license as you seem like a cautious person.

Richard

will do, thx.

regard attached licence, any serious paragraph I should worry about? where I can find any example of  proper houseboat licence agreement?

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TheBiscuits Veteran II

TheBiscuits

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Sam0011 said:

will do, thx.

regard attached licence, any serious paragraph I should worry about? where I can find any example of  proper houseboat licence agreement?

A licensed houseboat is not just a boat that someone lives on, it has a specific legal definition.  I think there are now less than 100 "proper" houseboats on CRT waters. 

None of them look like boats and all of them have fixed permanent moorings.  If the boat you are looking at looks like a boat, it probably won't be one of the few houseboats.

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roland elsdon Influencer

roland elsdon

Posted
Posted

No we let the mooring and hence the houseboat cert go , when we bought a motor boat, (1984)  and went back to a cruising licence, but many of our friends had houseboat certs on their narrowboats mainly at bulls bridge , rickmansworth and benbow way.cant see why crt would have changed that policy, i think there is a town class motor for sale  on chapmans farm that i know used to have a houseboat cert, and has been there since we left london in 1988

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