Houseboats and floating homes for sale in Europe: prices, mooring and delivery

Floating house, houseboat or converted barge: what is for sale?

Three kinds of floating home are sold in Europe, and the kind you buy changes the price, how it travels and which rules apply:

• Floating house — a home on a pontoon or floats, usually without an engine, built to stay at one mooring, such as Green Village's 20 ft floating house on a double-chamber marine polyethylene hull.
• Houseboat — living space on a hull that can be moved, under its own power or towed; the Liveaboard houseboat in our catalogue lists an optional electric motor.
• Converted barge — a former working vessel refitted as a home, sold used.

How much does a houseboat cost at Green Village?

Green Village sells new and used houseboats and floating houses. Each listing shows the price before VAT plus a VAT line for the destination you choose; the listed price includes door-to-door transport across continental Europe, and destinations outside Europe are quoted individually. Live prices are in the houseboat catalogue and on the floating houses for sale page.

The total differs by country because VAT follows the destination's rate. Inside the EU there is no customs duty between member states; a unit of UK origin enters the EU free of duty only with proof of origin under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Listings such as the Liveaboard state CE design 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).

Mooring, insurance and upkeep come on top. To finance it, listings show an indicative monthly simulation, subject to approval — see our financing options.

Where is the best place to buy a houseboat in Europe?

There are four routes, and the right one depends on whether you already have a mooring:

• Marketplaces and brokers — mostly used houseboats and converted barges. As one UK boat marketplace notes, some listings include a transferable mooring while others leave you to find your own, and used houseboats may cost less upfront but more to maintain.
• Builders of new floating homes — a unit to your specification; check whether transport and launch are in the price.
• Marinas and developments — some sell a unit with a berth; ask whether its terms allow living aboard.
• An importer and dealer — Green Village lists new and used floating homes in one catalogue, with the floor area of every unit and one price per destination, transport included. Tell us where the mooring is and request a written quote for your site.

Mooring and permits: what the law says in each country

Rule one: secure the mooring and its title before you reserve the home — buying the home does not by itself give you the right to moor it. The authority that decides is local; the detail is in our guide to houseboat laws in Europe, country by country.

• Portugal — installing floating infrastructure and equipment on the public water domain requires a prior licence (Water Law, Law 58/2005, art. 60(1)(j)).
• Spain — in state ports, occupying the port domain with non-removable works or installations, or for uses longer than three years, requires a prior concession from the Port Authority (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, art. 81.1), and occupations intended for buildings for residence or habitation are prohibited (art. 72.3). On other waters, ask the authority that manages the water.
• France — nobody may occupy a public body's public domain, including the natural river public domain of classified watercourses and lakes, without a title that authorises it (Code général de la propriété des personnes publiques, arts. L2122-1 and L2111-7).
• Netherlands — each municipal council sets one environment plan for its whole territory (Omgevingswet, art. 2.4), and the rules those plans follow define a residential houseboat ("woonschip") as a floating structure with a residential function at a location the plan designates as a houseboat mooring (Besluit kwaliteit leefomgeving, art. 5.1b).
• Germany — on federal waterways, using the waterway or installing a structure in it or on its bank must be notified to the Waterways and Shipping Office; if it raises nothing within one month, no river- and shipping-police permit is needed (Bundeswasserstraßengesetz, § 31(2)). On other waters, ask the authority that manages them.

Can you live on a houseboat in England and Wales?

This section covers England and Wales, where the Canal & River Trust exercises the British Waterways Board's functions under the British Waterways Act 1995 (Transfer of Functions Order 2012, art. 2(1)). In Scotland and Northern Ireland, ask the local navigation authority and council.

Home mooring or continuous cruising. 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 it 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).

Mooring transfer. A UK estate agent selling floating homes warns that mooring agreements are personal to the holder and rarely pass automatically to a new owner, and that most Thames moorings are renewable only annually. Get the length and transferability in writing before you pay.

Can a houseboat be delivered to my location?

Yes, within limits. Transport is organised by Mobile Home Logistic, Green Village's logistics division, and is included in the delivered price, door-to-door across continental Europe.

Among Green Village's listings that state the beam, the Tiny is 2.55 m wide, the Liveaboard 4.10 m and the House on Water L14 5.00 m; whatever the width, Green Village handles everything the delivery requires.

Launch and connection to the mooring depend on the site: have them written into your quote, together with the delivery date, which depends on the unit and the mooring being ready.

What does a houseboat cost to keep, and can you live aboard all year?

Living aboard all year depends on the mooring, so ask whoever grants it whether residence is allowed, and on the boat: as one UK boat marketplace notes, insulation, heating and ventilation matter in colder climates such as the UK or the Netherlands. New Green Village houseboats such as the Liveaboard have a roof with 100 mm of XPS insulation and double-glazed aluminium windows.

Budget for these recurring costs on top of the price:

• Mooring — get the fee, what it covers and whether living aboard is allowed in writing.
• Insurance — on Canal & River Trust waters a licence may be refused to an uninsured boat (British Waterways Act 1995, s. 17(3)(b)); see mobile home insurance.
• Utilities and wastewater — agree water, wastewater and power connections with the manager of the mooring.
• Local taxes — council tax in England and Wales when the boat is a main residence; elsewhere, ask the municipality.
• Hull upkeep — a UK estate agent reports that static houseboats typically need to come out of the water roughly every seven years, cruising vessels every three to four.

What to check before buying a second-hand houseboat

In this order:

• Mooring: included, transferable and allowing the use you plan — all three in writing.
• Hull: surveyed out of the water before you commit.
• Paperwork: registration, any navigation certificate and the CE design category, if there is one.
• Use: navigating or staying put — in France, the Netherlands and Germany it changes how the law treats the unit.
• Access: the unit's width against the road to the site and the launch point.

In summary

• Three types are for sale: floating houses (built to stay moored), houseboats (a movable hull) and converted barges (former working vessels, sold used).
• Green Village's listed price includes door-to-door transport across continental Europe; VAT follows the destination.
• Secure the mooring first: buying the home does not by itself give you the right to moor it.
• Launch and connection to the mooring belong in the quote.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

1. Lei n.º 58/2005 (Water Law), art. 60.º — Diário da República
2. Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2011 (Ley de Puertos), arts. 72 and 81 — BOE
3. Code des transports, art. L4000-3 — Légifrance
4. Code général de la propriété des personnes publiques, art. L2122-1 — Légifrance
5. Code général de la propriété des personnes publiques, art. L2111-7 (river public domain) — Légifrance
6. Omgevingswet, art. 2.4 and annex (definition of "bouwwerk") — wetten.overheid.nl
7. Besluit kwaliteit leefomgeving, art. 5.1b — wetten.overheid.nl
8. Bundeswasserstraßengesetz § 31 — gesetze-im-internet.de
9. Bundesmeldegesetz § 20 — gesetze-im-internet.de
10. British Waterways Act 1995, s. 17 — legislation.gov.uk
11. British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012, art. 2 — legislation.gov.uk
12. Local Government Finance Act 1988, s. 66 — legislation.gov.uk
13. Local Government Finance Act 1992, s. 7 — legislation.gov.uk
14. Directive 2013/53/EU (recreational craft), Annex I — legislation.gov.uk
15. Directive 96/53/EC (vehicle dimensions), Annex I — legislation.gov.uk
16. Directive 96/53/EC (vehicle dimensions), art. 4 — legislation.gov.uk

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