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Residential vs leisure moorings: what is the difference?
By Justin Allitt · Updated 11 November 2026
The single word on your mooring contract decides whether you can live on your boat. Get it wrong and you can lose the berth.
Leisure moorings
A leisure mooring is for keeping your boat between trips. Weekends and holidays aboard are fine. Living there as your main home is not, because the site has no planning permission for homes. Large operators say so plainly: you cannot live on your boat with a leisure mooring contract.
Residential moorings
A residential mooring has planning permission from the local council for people to live there. That gives you:
- a postal address you can use for banks, doctors and the electoral roll
- a council tax bill, usually in a low band, either direct or included in your mooring fee
- security of knowing the council and the marina both accept you live there
Residential planning comes with conditions the marina has to pay for, such as parking and local contributions, so residential berths cost more than leisure ones.
Why they are hard to find
Few marinas have residential permission, and those that do are almost full. A 2026 survey of UK marinas put residential berth occupancy at 96%, with waiting lists getting longer since 2022.
How to get one
- Buy a boat that comes with one. Many residential moorings transfer to the next owner when the boat sells, for a fee to the marina, often 5% to 10% of the sale price. It's the same idea as a park home sold on its pitch.
- Join waiting lists. Ask every marina in your area, then keep in touch. Our free waiting list request goes to every marina that fits.
- Look further out. The Midlands, the North and Wales usually have shorter waits than London and the South East.
Always ask to see the planning permission and the contract wording before you pay a deposit.