Do we have any rights?

[Angela_H]

As a liveaboard in a particular marina for nearly 10 years, I am interested if anyone can tell me if we have any legal rights to residency or anything similar?

I am also interested to know if anyone knows what right of redress bertholders have when a marina manager says "Its my marina I can do anything I like - I can put your boat where I want, I can drag your car around if I want".
We can't simply be at the whims of the owner can we?
I do know the answer is to move on but that is not currently an option.
Any constructive advice is really appreciated.



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[ccscott49]

I think you will find the marina owner has most of the rights, you dont, read your annual berthing contract, the fact you have been living there for 10 years matters not one jot. He can move your boat or ask you to use another berth. As for dragging your car around, that may well come under criminal damage, unless of course it was illegally parked. You will find you are on a very sticky wicket with the legalities, a lot has been aired on these forums already, about a chap in Wales, who thought he had rights of abode etc. He didn't. I don't know what happened, but he was very upset and I dont think it is even yet solved.

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[tcm]

If you renew and pay for an ordinary annual contract I am fairly sure you have no rights of residency, nor even a right of way. It is only in the very particular cases of renting a house or flat that (some) rights accrue to the resident. So, you can be chucked out any time. It would definitely be worthwhile making friends/new start etc with the powers that be if at all possible. Unless real criminal damage starts (where you suffer a loss, and him moving a car, or saying you have to park here not there isn't a big loss if any) then do not instruct a solicitor who may coldhop all over the place, oblivious to the fact that his even making contact with the marina owners constitues a "problem berth holder"

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[Caronia]

One of the great pleasures of being a liveaboard is the freedom to move, that is a right and possibly the only one that liveaboards have. If you don't like it, exercise that right and move on. If you want security of tenure then move ashore.

The extension of rights of tenure to moorings can only mean that they will eventually be built over and those moorings lost to seagoing folk. One only has to look at the recent rash of planning applications at Shoreham by Sea to build houses on stilts on the existing residential moorings.

Property developers across Europe are eagerly eyeing up areas currently used for moorings with a view to creating residential and "leisure" developments. It is not in the interest of boatowners and mariners to support those who are attempting to create residential rights for moorings, indeed, we should be doing everything in our power to resist these developments.

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[seashaw]

As other people have said, if you have any rights at all you will be lucky, it all really depends what is written in your berthing contract. Most likely this is written to favour the marina owner, so it is most likely to be best to try to sort out your differences and if you can not the only other options will be to move on or seek professional advice.

Good Luck

Mark

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[Angela_H]

Thank you all very much for your posts.

Angela



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