In 2025, members of the House of Lords attempted to get amendments included in the Renters’ Rights Bill that would have extended security of tenure to boat dwellers.
On 14th May 2025 the House of Lords debated amendments to the Renters Rights Bill. These included amendments 206A, 262 and 271, proposed by Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated) to extend the rights in the Bill to boat dwellers. Other peers spoke in support. If successful, this would have provided security of tenure for liveaboard boaters. The amendments were withdrawn during the debate. See https://bargee-traveller.org.uk/nbta-mentioned-in-house-of-lords/
Now we know why the amendments were withdrawn.
CRT recently published its Board of Trustees’ meeting minutes for September and November 2025. From the September 2025 minutes (page 33) it is clear that CRT lobbied against security of tenure for moorings. Susie Mather, CRT Director of Communications and External Relations, reported that:
“We spotted and tracked amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill at the House of Lords Committee stage, such as one that would have brought residential moorings within security of tenure protections (this would have affected the Trust’s online mooring activity). We engaged with relevant peers and civil servants to point out the consequences of such a development, and the amendments did not get passed. We continue to monitor the passage of the Bill but it appears no further amendments have been tabled that would have a fundamental impact on the Trust’s ability to effectively manage liveaboard boaters.”
Draw your own conclusions…
See https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/meetings/2025-09-25-meeting-of-the-board-of-trustees