Floating Homes for Sale in the UK: 2026 Prices for Houseboats and Floating Lodges
By Matheus Agueda · 2 November 2026
Short answer: Green Village Mobile Homes has 28 floating homes and houseboats with a price delivered to the UK, from £38,000 to £327,667, with a median of £156,208. One-bedroom floating homes start at £38,000 and two-bedroom ones at £68,875. The price on each listing includes transport to the UK, organised by Mobile Home Logistic, the partner logistics company of the same group, and insured at 100 % of the home's value; VAT is shown separately. Buying the home does not give you a place to keep it: secure the mooring first.
This guide sets out what a floating home costs in the UK in 2026, straight from the live catalogue — new and by number of bedrooms — what the delivered price includes and leaves out, the licence and mooring rules on UK inland waters, and the checks to make before you buy. Every price below is in pounds, delivered to the UK, with VAT shown separately. Every unit, with photos, floor area and price: floating homes for sale.
Floating home prices in the UK
Floating homes and houseboats in stock with a price delivered to the UK (VAT shown separately):
| Floating homes | In stock | From | Median price | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 28 | £38,000 | £156,208 | £327,667 |
| New | 27 | £38,000 | £156,208 | £327,667 |
| 1 bedroom | 12 | £38,000 | £145,646 | £280,042 |
| 2 bedrooms | 16 | £68,875 | £180,292 | £327,667 |
On a smaller budget: up to £85,000, delivered to the UK, there are 3 floating homes in stock. Every home of every type in that price band: homes up to £85,000.
Units available now
Floating house, houseboat or floating lodge?
Three names cover what is for sale:
- Floating house — a home on a pontoon or floats, usually without an engine, built to stay at one mooring.
- Houseboat — living space on a hull that can be moved, under its own power or towed; some models in the catalogue list an optional motor.
- Floating lodge — a floating house laid out and finished like a holiday lodge.
In the catalogue, depending on the model, the structure is stainless steel on elastomer floats filled with XPS, or a galvanised steel module on a twin-chamber marine polyethylene hull. Many units have a roof terrace, double glazing, air conditioning and fresh and wastewater tanks; each listing gives its floor area, number of bedrooms and equipment.
Each listing also states its CE design category, and most state category D, for sheltered waters: a craft designed for winds up to and including Beaufort force 4 and significant wave heights up to and including 0.3 m (Directive 2013/53/EU, Annex I). Check the category against the water where the home will stay.
What the delivered price includes
- Included in the price: the floating home and its transport to the delivery site you give us in the UK, organised by Mobile Home Logistic and insured at 100 % of the home's value, from collection to delivery.
- Shown separately: VAT.
- Not included: the mooring and its fees, the boat licence or registration, insurance, and the water, electricity and wastewater connections at the mooring: they depend on the mooring and are the owner's cost.
- Launch: putting the home on the water depends on the site, so have the launch and the connection to the mooring written into your quote.
- Documents: every sale is made with a written contract and a pro forma invoice, and every home and delivery address with a written offer.
Licence and mooring in the UK
Secure the mooring before you reserve the home: buying a floating home does not by itself give you a place to keep it, and whoever manages the water decides whether you can moor there and whether you can live aboard.
- Licence or registration. According to GOV.UK, you usually need to register or licence a boat — any vessel with or without a motor, a houseboat included — to keep or use it on inland waterways such as rivers and canals. Contact the navigation authority of the waterway you want to use; the registration or licence is renewed each year, and boat insurance and a Boat Safety Scheme certificate may be needed to get it.
- Canal & River Trust waters. In England and Wales the Canal & River Trust exercises the British Waterways Board's functions (Transfer of Functions Order 2012, art. 2(1)). A boat licence may be refused unless the boat meets the applicable standards and is insured, and unless a mooring where it may lawfully be left will be available or the boat will be used bona fide for navigation without staying continuously in one place for more than 14 days or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances (British Waterways Act 1995, s. 17(3)).
- Council tax. If the boat is someone's sole or main residence, the boat and its mooring are domestic property (Local Government Finance Act 1988, s. 66(4)); a resident who is not the owner is liable, otherwise the owner (Local Government Finance Act 1992, s. 7).
- Scotland and Northern Ireland. Ask the local navigation authority and the council.
The rules in other countries, and what a mooring needs in each: houseboat laws in Europe, country by country.
Can you live on a floating home all year?
It depends on the mooring and on the home. Ask whoever grants the mooring whether living aboard is allowed, and get that in writing together with the fee and what it covers. On the home, check the insulation, heating and ventilation for a UK winter against the equipment each listing gives.
Warranty
- New floating homes: Green Village is liable for conformity for 3 years from delivery (legal warranty, Portuguese Decree-Law 84/2021); any commercial warranty is stated on the listing.
- Used floating homes: sold as seen, with 18 months of legal warranty of conformity from delivery.
Before you buy: checklist
- Mooring: available, allowing the use you plan — holidays or living aboard — with its fee and term, all in writing.
- Licence: registration or licence with the navigation authority of the water, and insurance.
- Design category: the CE design category on the listing, against the water where the home will stay.
- Delivery and launch: access to the delivery site and the launch, written into your quote.
- Used units: the hull surveyed out of the water before you commit.
Where to buy a floating home in the UK
Floating homes are sold by builders of new units, by dealers and brokers (new and used), on boat marketplaces (mostly used) and by some marinas and developments together with a berth. Green Village lists new and used floating homes in one catalogue, each with its price delivered to the UK. The UK sellers, with what each one states on its own website: houseboats and floating homes in the UK: sellers compared. For the rest of Europe: houseboats and floating homes for sale in Europe.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a floating home cost in the UK? In the Green Village catalogue, floating homes and houseboats delivered to the UK cost from £38,000, with a median of £156,208. Transport is included in the price and VAT is shown separately; the mooring, its fees, the licence and insurance are extra.
What is the cheapest floating home? One-bedroom floating homes start at £38,000, delivered to the UK. Up to £85,000 there are 3 in stock.
How much does a two-bedroom floating home cost? From £68,875, with a median of £180,292, delivered to the UK; 16 are in stock.
Does a floating home come with a mooring? Not from Green Village: it sells the home, delivered, and the mooring is agreed with whoever manages the water. Some marinas and developments sell a unit together with a berth; ask whether their terms allow living aboard.
Can you live on a floating home in the UK all year? Only where the mooring allows it, so ask whoever grants it, in writing. On Canal & River Trust waters a licence may be refused unless the boat has a mooring where it may lawfully be left or is used bona fide for navigation.
Do you need a licence for a floating home? On UK inland waterways you usually need to register or licence any boat, a houseboat included, with the navigation authority of the waterway, and renew it each year.
Do you pay council tax on a floating home? In England and Wales, when the boat is someone's sole or main residence, the boat and its mooring are domestic property (Local Government Finance Act 1988, s. 66(4)).
Is transport to the UK included? Yes. Transport is organised by Mobile Home Logistic, included in the delivered price on each listing and insured at 100 % of the home's value. The launch depends on the site and belongs in your quote.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Register a boat
- British Waterways Act 1995, s. 17 (legislation.gov.uk)
- British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012, art. 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Local Government Finance Act 1988, s. 66 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Local Government Finance Act 1992, s. 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Directive 2013/53/EU (recreational craft), Annex I (legislation.gov.uk)
Market reference: GV Index (October 2026) — price per m², medians by destination and open data.