The US has a comparable movement in various places, where houseboat life occurs. An off-shoot of the tiny home/van life alt life movement that fascinated me a while back.
Personally, up in here, the whole idea sucks, as you have to drag the thing out every winter and put it somewhere... The idea is fun - I would like to drift up and down the mississipi/missouri/ohio river system on a houseboat - Seems like a fun thing to do... Drift down to the Big Swamp or the Gulf for the winter, and take your time motoring back up north for the summer.
But the practicalities interfere - Primarily docking fees and where to dock, which plagues the east.
Similar to how Van Life/RV Life only really works in the West, where boondocking really works on BLM land. Doesn't work back east, where all the land is owned, and getting permission doesn't happen.
But it would be a thing. I spent some time on a big raft with an outfitter's tent... it was a grand way to be.
