Canal boats are liable for council tax (Image: Getty)
Upping sticks and deciding to live on a narrow boat or canal boat is a dream for many Brits up and down the country – what could be more romantic than sailing from lock to lock each day, rather than being pinned down in a big, expensive house?
But according to experts Narrowboats.UK, there are some hidden bills lurking that many narrow boat owners fail to consider – such as council tax.
In its online guidance, the site’s experts explain that canal boats or house boats can still owe council tax, and exactly how much you owe and who you owe it to will depend on all sorts of factors.
It says that the type of mooring you’re on, and how long you’ve lived on a boat, are all important factors: “If you are on a residential mooring, you are likely to be liable for council tax. However, if you are on a non-residential mooring, you may not be liable.
“The length of time you have been living on the boat. If you have been living on the boat for less than 12 months, you may not be liable for council tax.
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“Your local council’s rules. Each local council has its own rules about whether or not people living on boats are liable for council tax. You should check with your local council to find out what their rules are.”
It adds that, if you are living on a boat permanently, you should contact your local council to check what you may owe.
The cheapest council tax band, band A, is what a mooring or boat would likely fall into should it be liable for council tax, and that band averages between £1,240 a year and £1,590 according to Sheffield Council.
In HMRC’s Council Tax Manual, it sets out: “The pitch for a caravan or the mooring for a boat to be banded for council tax purposes; and (b) The value of the caravan or boat itself to be reflected in the council tax band.”
Broadly, a caravan pitch or boat mooring is domestic property when either:
is an appurtenance enjoyed with other living accommodation (which is itself a dwelling) and is not a separate hereditament.
a constructed or established pitch or mooring becomes occupied by a boat or caravan used as a sole or main residence, then the pitch or mooring will constitute domestic property i.e. a dwelling from that date.
It adds that even if the boat moves away ‘from time to time’, it could still be classed as a permanent dwelling if the pitch or mooring is reserved for its return.
It adds: “a) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence is moored permanently at a mooring, then the mooring is domestic property, and both the mooring and the boat are subject to council tax.
“b) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence stops at a mooring and moves away for a sufficiently long period and it seems that when next in use that mooring will be used by that same boat or another boat which is someone’s sole or main residence, then the mooring is domestic but the mooring only is subject to council tax.
“c) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence is moored at a mooring and moves away, and it seems that when next in use the mooring will be used by a non-sole or main residence boat, then the mooring is non-domestic and subject to non-domestic rates.
“d) If there is a mooring with no way of telling what sort of craft will be moored at it, then it is non-domestic and subject to non-domestic rates.”
