Can you live legally out on the water?

I recently visited a marina in

Jacksonville and noticed that many folks live on their docked boats. I’ve seen

that on television, usually in Miami or on the left coast, but never really

thought about the legality of that in Georgia. Surely the Legislature hasn’t

missed a chance to regulate water living, so I checked and sure enough, there’s

a law for that.

 

First, Georgia calls it “live-aboard” which means “a floating

vessel or other watercraft capable of safe, mechanically propelled navigation

under average Georgia coastal wind and current conditions which is utilized as

a human or animal abode and is located at a marina or a mooring area

established by the department.” (O.C.G.A. Sec. 12-5-282(8). What is unclear is

what happens when one’s boat isn’t capable of propelled navigation, as some of

the boats in Jacksonville hadn’t moved in years it appears.

 

Now that we know the lawmakers have addressed this floating

abode issue, questions remain, such as, are there property taxes other than the

boat tax? Is moving over to another slip a change of address? What school zone

do you live in? Where do you vote?

 

Interesting questions all, but alas, in Georgia it appears

that living on a boat on Georgia’s Golden Coast isn’t permitted by our Legislature.

O.C.G.A. Sec. 12-5-288(8) states that one may only live aboard a boat on

Georgia’s coast for 90 days during any calendar year. Now the law is silent on

living on a boat on a Georgia lake, but when it comes to the coastal

marshlands, you actually need permission of the Commissioner of Natural

Resources to extend your stay past 90 days if living on a boat. When asking for

permission to overstay your welcome, you have to give the Commissioner a good

reason. Not sure what a good reason might be, but I’m confident my readers can

come up with some.

 

If one was to overstay and the gendarmes figured it out

(would that be the “Dock Police?”), the superior court of the county where the

marina lies is the appropriate venue for a violation of this law. Violating

this law will result in a misdemeanor charge, which means up to 12 months in

jail, presumably on land.

 

Kelly Burke, former district attorney and magistrate judge,

is engaged in private practice where he focuses on personal injury cases. These

articles are not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the

public about how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at kelly@burkelasseterllc.comto comment on this article or suggest articles about the law that you’d like to

see.

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