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The Rights of Boat Dwellers Bill is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat) and scheduled for second reading in the House of Lords on 17 July 2026. 

The bill would establish new rights for “boat dwellers”, which the bill defines as any person whose primary residence is a boat on a British river or canal or in British coastal waters. Among other things, the bill contains a provision to establish a right to access public services—such as healthcare, education and financial services—for boat dwellers. This would apply both to boat dwellers that have permanent mooring as well as those that do not. 

The bill would also seek to protect boat dwellers’ “right to a secure home” by preventing the relevant authorities from taking certain actions­—such as eviction proceedings, requirements to follow certain cruising patterns and certain restrictions on license renewals—that might infringe on the right to a secure home or the right to access public services. 

The government has not commented specifically on the bill, but has opposed recent proposed amendments to legislation intended to strengthen the tenancy rights of boat dwellers, arguing that there would be a high chance of unintended consequences. However, it also said it recognised, for example, that boat dwellers do not enjoy the same level of security of tenure as those in the private rented sector. 

Image by Catrin Ellis on Unsplash

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