Houseboaters may struggle to keep warm this winter, as Hackney Council submits a proposal prohibiting the burning of solid fuels on canal boats, according to the National Barge Travellers Association (NBTA).
New legislation will require anyone heating their houseboat to only use stoves and fuel approved by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA.)
Under the proposed amendment, anyone on the waterways found to be burning unauthorised fuel in a non-DEFRA approved appliance could face a penalty charge of up to £1,000.
With many stoves deemed unfit under new guidance for houseboat owners, they now face an impossible choice this winter: heat their homes at the risk of fines or follow council guidelines, potentially exposing them to freezing-cold weather.
While buying a new stove outright is also an option, they are expensive, with some costing upward of £1,000.
A spokesperson for the NBTA has rejected the “draconian” legislation, which they claim unfairly targets houseboaters as many rely on unauthorised fuel sources, such as wood-burning stoves, to heat their homes.
This amendment to the Smoke Control Order, which has been in place for land residents in Hackney since December 2025, is due to council efforts to “improve air quality around the waterways”.
The council has invited boaters to contribute to a consultation over this draft legislation, which runs until January 2027, but an NBTA spokesperson has warned this will have little impact.
“The only thing that will be achieved [by the consultation] is that boaters will become more marginalised and portrayed as some kind of criminals for wanting to stay warm in winter using their stoves.”
Hackney Council did not respond to a request for comment.
