Float Home Moratorium - Letter to Premier Eby

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Dec 18, 2025
3 min read

Dear Premier David Eby

I am writing both as a float homeowner and as President of the South Fraser River Enhancement Society (SFRES). For the past ten years, float homeowners have lived under a provincial moratorium that prohibits new Crown land water leases for float home moorage. This moratorium—along with changes to the Residential Land Use Policy—was originally intended to give the Province time to develop updated and comprehensive policies. A decade later, no such policies have been introduced.

Moratorium Impact

· Financial Institutions no longer offer mortgages

· Cash-only Float Home Market

· De-valuation of property attached to float homes

· De-valuation of Float Homes

· Unsaleable assets of individuals who have contributed to BC’s economy

Over the last two years, SFRES has been actively engaged with the Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship, including Minister Neill, Deputy Minister Lori Halls, and senior staff, to advocate for removal of this moratorium. In March 2024, Minister Neill was invited to Ladner to meet with SFRES, Tsawwassen First Nation Chief Laura Cassidy, Musqueam Indian Band representatives, and float home and marina owners. With the assistance of the Canadian Lifeboat Institute, a boat tour was arranged to provide the Minister and her team firsthand insight into Ladner’s longstanding float home community and its deep connection to the Fraser River.

Float homes, situated on Crown land, rely entirely on the Crown land lease system. Their value—and the security of their owners—is tied directly to the length and stability of these leases. When a lease expires, the Province has the authority to allow it to lapse. Minister Neill noted during a recent ‘Question Period’, that leases may continue month-to-month after expiry. For a float homeowner, this converts a $300,000 to $1.8 million asset into one worth effectively zero, as a home on a month-to-month lease cannot be sold or financed.

Our Homes

Like many British Columbians, float homeowners have invested their life savings into their homes.

1. Our homes are their primary financial security for retirement.

2. This investment helps fund future elder care needs.

3. It provides a legacy and financial support for their children in a province where the cost of housing is already prohibitive for many young families.

4. Due to the moratorium, financial institutions no longer issue mortgages for float homes, forcing a cash-only market.

5. As buyers cannot secure financing, float homes—once a unique, affordable, and vibrant housing option—are rapidly losing value.

Throughout our discussions with WLRS, we have presented clear, accurate information addressing concerns about environmental impacts, First Nations access to the Fraser River, and regulatory oversight. Float homes are already supported and regulated through the City of Delta’s Official Community Plan and permitting processes.

The current moratorium and Residential Land Use Policy, which apply solely to float homeowners, are inequitable and unjust. They create unnecessary hardship for residents wishing or needing to sell, and they strip away the value of their lifelong investments. If the Government of British Columbia is committed to fairness and equal treatment for all its residents, we respectfully urge you, Premier Eby, to intervene and repeal the Float Home Moratorium and the associated Residential Land Use Policy restrictions that uniquely target float homeowners.