Evicted from mooring - legal perspective?

[rosssavage]

Hi all.

I have been renting a liveaboard mooring for the last nine years. Today, all of the boats on the moorings (about 20) have been served notices to a ate so that the land owners can install and sell static houseboats on the mooring site.

They have given more than the required notice specified in our mooring agreements (42 days - we are expected to vacate by 19th April)

The problem is there are almost no liveaboard moorings elsewhere to accommodate us (upper Thames, Windsor area).

Where do we stand legally? If there are no available liveaboard moorings, do the council have an obligation to help? Can the mooring owners simply end the agreement with no obligation to assist us? Effectively we are being made homeless (arguably)

Any legal eagles on here have any advice?

Thanks in advance

 

[Tranona]

You are about to experience the downside of living at the margins. In general private moorings even if residential are not covered by mainstream housing law. Your only rights are those in your contract with the owner.

Difficult say if the local council has any involvement as this will depend on your personal circumstances rather than the fact that you are being evicted from a private mooring contract.

Visit to the local CAB might be avoided starting point.

 

[Richard10002]

What does the contract say they can do if you all sit tight and choose not to move on?

You will be in breach of contract, but I wonder what the penalty might be. They almost certainly wont be able to use force to move you on without a court order, and they are unlikely to be allowed to move your boats without your permission, (although they might do so, so it would be worth researching what could happen to them if they did).

 

[Resolution]

Have you been paying council tax?

 

[Chris_Robb]

Have you been paying council tax?

Ah ha, an interesting point.

 

[rosssavage]

Nope, no council tax, but I don't need to.

With respect to just staying, the contract says the owners then have the right to impound the boat and ultimately sell it to recover costs.

Tbh, I'm not really the sort of person to make a stand or be a pain - just wondered what the options were.

We had a moorers meeting this morning, and the result is that we accept we have have to move one way or another (after all, it isn't our land!) so there's little real point in making life difficult for the landowners. They WILL eventually win!!!

 

[jakeroyd]

I think you are correct in that the landowners will be able to force through their wishes.
I guess they have given you the notice the contract requires.
Perhaps you , as a body , can convince them to allow more time. Finding a new mooring can't be easy but they may look more favourably on delays if you are 'in the process' of finding an alternative.

 

[NigelMoore]

Where do we stand legally? If there are no available liveaboard moorings, do the council have an obligation to help? Can the mooring owners simply end the agreement with no obligation to assist us? Effectively we are being made homeless (arguably)

You are correct that the landowners are within their rights, and indeed have shown some consideration in excess of necessity.


Given the circumstances of inability to find other moorings, the possibility of leaning on the Local Council is worth pursuing, because yes, you are technically being made homeless and through no fault or contributing cause of your own.

 

[LadyInBed]

In the unlikely event that the Council offered you a flat, you still have to do something with your boat!

 

[Baddox]

Are the owners installing and selling houseboats to be kept on site, or are they to be sold like cars at a garage forecourt to then be moved elsewhere?

If the owners want to sell boat plus the mooring, perhaps you could save them the trouble of installing boats and negotiate a price for the moorings.

 

[daphnae]

Have you been paying council tax?

hello Resolution, the same thing has just happened to me, I'm on a residential mooring as a licensee and have lived here for 10 years. I received a 28 day notice of eviction, just me no other boats and no reasons. I pay council tax, does that make a difference?
Thanks!

 

[sailorman]

Is the OP an RYA member & able to access their legal dept

 

[NigelMoore]

hello Resolution, the same thing has just happened to me, I'm on a residential mooring as a licensee and have lived here for 10 years. I received a 28 day notice of eviction, just me no other boats and no reasons. I pay council tax, does that make a difference?
Thanks!

No, it makes no difference at all – at least so far as being able to stay put is concerned. It could make a difference to the Council's readiness to assist with alternative solutions, and does prove that you are being evicted from a legitimate long term home within their bailiwick, which is helpful.

 

[macd]

Is the OP an RYA member & able to access their legal dept

Does the OP even have the same problem any more? He received notice to move the better part of four years ago.

 

[nortada]

Does the OP even have the same problem any more? He received notice to move the better part of four years ago.

Good point, this is a Zombie Thread with the first 10 posts well past their sell-by date so why has daphnae resurrected them, rather than start a new thread; possibly including their location

 

[NigelMoore]

Good point, this is a Zombie Thread with the first 10 posts well past their sell-by date so why has daphnae resurrected them, rather than start a new thread; possibly including their location

Possibly because they saw a comment re: Council Tax in the same context as their own, and wanted the commenter to answer the specific question raised – seeing they would be alerted by the Forum to the new post.

 

[nortada]

Only 3 additional posts on the subject. The rest are a diversion.

Doesn’t seem to have worked awfully well

 

[cherod]

why do people come on a forum asking advice then not have the decency to relay the outcome,, bit rude i say

 

[nortada]

why do people come on a forum asking advice then not have the decency to relay the outcome,, bit rude i say

New user, 2 days and 4 posts in, you are clearly speaking from experience, bit pushy say I

Or possibly a born-again

 

[cherod]

ooops,, bit touchy i would say ,,
not meant as a crit of this forum just of forums in general... ( from my limited experience )