Houseboats and floating homes: what the law allows in each country

Boat or building? The question that decides everything

The first thing the law asks is whether the structure is meant to navigate or to stay put. That answer decides which rules apply — navigation law, or building and planning law.

In the Netherlands, the Omgevingswet only excludes from the definition of a building ("bouwwerk") vessels people live on that are intended and used for navigation. A permanently moored "woonark" is treated as a building. In France, the Code des transports (art. L4000-3) separates the "bateau" from the "établissement flottant" — "toute construction flottante qui n'est pas normalement destinée à être déplacée". In Germany, the Bundesmeldegesetz (§ 20) treats houseboats ("Wohnschiffe") as dwellings when they do not move, or move only occasionally.

Brazil goes the other way: Law 9,537/1997 (art. 2, V) defines a vessel as any construction able to move on water "por meios próprios ou não" (under its own power or not), and the Navy's NORMAM-303 creates a category for unpowered structures operating at a fixed location, which expressly includes "Casas Flutuantes" (floating houses).

Summary by country

Who authorises the place on the water, and what the law says about living aboard:

Portugal

Portugal's Water Law (Law 58/2005, art. 60(1)(j)) makes "the installation of floating infrastructure and equipment" on the water public domain subject to a prior licence. In practice, the floating home needs a water-use title for the place where it will sit; in ports and marinas, the operator's regulations apply as well.

We found no dedicated residential regime for floating homes in Portuguese law. Some port and marina regulations ban using a vessel as a permanent residence without express permission — read the local regulations before you commit.

Spain

In Spain's state ports, the law prohibits occupations and uses of the port domain intended for buildings for residence or habitation (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, art. 72.3), and occupying it with non-removable works or installations, or for uses longer than three years, requires a prior concession from the Port Authority (art. 81.1). On the coast, the Ley de Costas bans buildings intended for residence or habitation in the protection easement zone (art. 25.1.a) and excludes them from the maritime-terrestrial public domain (art. 32.2).

Both prohibitions are worded for buildings; before you buy, ask the authority that manages that water — the Port Authority or the marina in a port — in writing whether living aboard is allowed. On inland reservoirs and rivers, occupation depends on the river basin authority (Confederación Hidrográfica) — check case by case.

France

A péniche or floating home that stays permanently in one place is, as a rule, an "établissement flottant": any floating construction that is not normally intended to be moved (Code des transports, art. L4000-3). Nobody may occupy part of a public body's public domain without a title that authorises it (Code général de la propriété des personnes publiques, art. L2122-1), and the natural river public domain is made up of watercourses and lakes belonging to the State, its public bodies, local authorities and certain other listed public owners, once classified into that domain (art. L2111-7).

Ask the manager of the waterway — VNF (Voies navigables de France) on the waters it manages — for the occupation title before you install the home, and check that the title covers the use you plan, including living aboard.

Netherlands

A stationary "woonark" or "woonboot" is a building under the Omgevingswet, so building rules and the municipal plan apply. The mooring ("ligplaats") is licensed by the municipality — in Amsterdam, the Verordening op het binnenwater 2010 (art. 2.3.1) prohibits occupying a mooring with a houseboat without a permit.

Buying the floating home does not by itself give you the right to moor it: first confirm that a licensed mooring exists for it.

Belgium (Flanders)

In Flanders, De Vlaamse Waterweg manages living on the water through a dedicated houseboat policy. Long-term moorings are awarded as concessions through online bidding.

Germany

On federal waterways, anyone who wants to use the waterway or install a structure in it or on its bank must notify the Waterways and Shipping Office (WSA); if the office raises nothing within one month of the notification, no river- and shipping-police permit is needed (Bundeswasserstraßengesetz, § 31(2)). Waters that are not federal waterways fall outside § 31: ask the authority that manages that water.

For residence registration, a houseboat that does not move, or moves only occasionally, counts as a dwelling (§ 20 BMG) — and anyone moving in must register within two weeks (§ 17 BMG).

United Kingdom

On Canal & River Trust waterways in England and Wales, a boat licence may be refused unless a mooring or other place where the boat can lawfully be left will be available for it, 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)(c)).

For local taxation, 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)).

Brazil

NORMAM-303/DPC (item 1.21) lists "Casas Flutuantes" among the unpowered floating structures that operate at a fixed, set location.

Installation is requested from the Port Captaincy, Delegation or Agency with jurisdiction over the site (item 2.14), with an application, location plan, site plan, technical description, the naval engineer's ART, a municipal permit if there is commercial activity, and proof of GRU payment. With a favourable opinion, the owner obtains the vessel registration title (TIE).

The rules provide simplified procedures for riverside and Indigenous community residents when the floating structure is meant as a home (item 1.7). And a powered floating structure that stays more than 30 uninterrupted days in one place may have to follow the same procedure (item 2.14.3(j)).

Italy and other countries

In Italy we found no clear legal category for a floating home that never navigates. Before buying, ask the Capitaneria di Porto and the local Comune for an opinion. For every other destination the principle is the same: first the authorised mooring, then the home.

Before you buy: checklist

In the right order:

• Secure the mooring and its title (licence, concession or marina contract) before reserving the home.
• If you will live aboard, get written confirmation that the title and the site rules allow residence.
• Decide whether the home will navigate or stay put — it changes the legal category in several countries.
• Plan wastewater collection and utility connections with the manager of the mooring before the home arrives.
• Check the maximum dimensions accepted at the site and the access for launching.
• Insure the floating structure before it goes in the water.

In summary

• Without an authorised mooring, a floating home cannot be installed — in any of the countries covered.
• Stationary or navigating: that difference changes the legal category in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Brazil.
• In Spain's state ports, occupations intended for buildings for residence or habitation are prohibited (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, art. 72.3).
• Brazil has a "Casa Flutuante" category in NORMAM-303, licensed by the Port Captaincy.
• In France, occupying the public domain needs a title that authorises it (CG3P, art. L2122-1).

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

1. Lei da Água (Lei n.º 58/2005), art. 60.º — PGDL
2. Ley 22/1988 de Costas, arts. 25 y 32 — BOE
3. Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2011 (Ley de Puertos), art. 72 — BOE
4. Établissements flottants (Code des transports, art. L4000-3) — Ministère de la Transition écologique
5. VNF — règlement des constructions flottantes en stationnement de longue durée (BO n.º 91, 2025)
6. IPLO — Drijvende bouwwerken (Omgevingswet)
7. Amsterdam — Verordening op het binnenwater 2010, art. 2.3.1
8. De Vlaamse Waterweg — Woonboten
9. Bundesmeldegesetz § 20 — gesetze-im-internet.de
10. Bundeswasserstraßengesetz § 31 — gesetze-im-internet.de
11. British Waterways Act 1995, s. 17 — legislation.gov.uk
12. Local Government Finance Act 1988, s. 66 — legislation.gov.uk
13. Lei n.º 9.537/1997 (LESTA), art. 2.º — Planalto
14. NORMAM-303/DPC — Marinha do Brasil

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