Buying a marina berth

What happens when a lease berth runs out?

When our client’s first start looking/enquiring about buying a lease berth we are often asked the questions.

“What happens at the end of the lease period?”

“What happens when my lease berth runs out?”

This can vary of course depending on location.

Lease berths at marinas in the UK

In the UK marinas are generally owned by marina operators.

In the past, it was these operators who sold off some of their berths as long leases or long berthing licenses.

These leases or licences were for a set number of years. Which means at a future date they will come to an end.

At that point, it will be down the marina’s management team as to what happens to those berths. There are likely to be a couple of options.

The marina could take the berths back and absorb them into their rental programme. Renting them as annual or shorter stay marina berths.

The other option would be to re-issue the leases again for another set period of time.

Decisions would most likely be made depending on the occupancy levels of the marina and the economic situation at the time.

Lease berths at marinas in the Mediterranean

In the Mediterranean marinas are located in the maritime public domain. This means that the seashore is owned by the state.

The state grants concessions for marinas to be built and/or operated to interested parties for a set number of years.

Once a concession has been won, the marina operator or the administration will sell leases. These will end when the concession ends.

When a concession comes to an end (and the leases). The state will offer the tender for the next length of time.

This allows the leases to be sold again. In Mediterranean marinas, they often give the first choice of re-purchase to existing leaseholders. They may even offer them a reduced rate before going out to the open market.

If you would like to talk with us about buying a lease berth for your boat, then please get in touch.