Council licensing report
Tower Hamlets runs at least one local property licensing scheme. Some rules apply to the whole council. Others apply only to listed streets, wards, or mapped areas, so the postcode alone does not always give a yes-or-no answer.
Status
Enter the postcode to confirm the council, then pick the address. If a scheme uses a street list, we check the selected street against it and give a direct yes or no.
Selective licensing · active · Listed wards · 1 Oct 2021 to 30 Sept 2026
Tower Hamlets selective licensing applies in Weavers, Whitechapel and Banglatown and Spitalfields to privately rented properties occupied by one household or a maximum of two occupiers.
Banglatown and Spitalfields, Weavers, Whitechapel.
Additional HMO licensing · active · Whole council area · 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2029
Tower Hamlets additional HMO licensing applies borough-wide to privately let HMOs occupied by three or more people in two or more households.
Bethnal Green, Blackwall and Cubitt Town, Bow East, Bow West, Bromley North, Bromley South, Canary Wharf, Island Gardens, Lansbury, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, Shadwell, Spitalfields and Banglatown, St. Dunstan's, St. Katherine and Wapping, St. Peters, Stepney Green, Weavers, Whitechapel.
A property licensing scheme is not the same everywhere. A council can designate the whole borough, a handful of wards, a list of streets, or a boundary drawn on a map. Whichever option Tower Hamlets chose changes how confident you can be from the postcode alone.
This scheme covers 3 named wards. The postcode confirms the council, but the address has to fall inside one of those wards before the licence applies.
This scheme covers the whole of Tower Hamlets. Every privately rented property inside the council boundary is in scope.
The right licence depends on who lives in the property, how the household is structured, and where the property sits in the council area. These are the situations we see most often, with what Tower Hamlets's current rules say about each.
One adult renting a self-contained flat or a studio with their own kitchen and bathroom.
May need a selective licence if the address sits inside Tower Hamlets's designated scheme area.
Two people from one household renting an entire house on one tenancy.
May need a selective licence if the address sits inside Tower Hamlets's designated scheme area.
Parents and dependent children from one household renting an entire house.
May need a selective licence if the address sits inside Tower Hamlets's designated scheme area.
Three friends or three unrelated tenants on a joint tenancy, sharing a kitchen and bathroom.
Needs an additional HMO licence anywhere in Tower Hamlets. Mandatory HMO licensing only kicks in at five or more occupiers, so this property is not in scope of the national rule.
Four unrelated tenants sharing a kitchen and bathroom.
Needs an additional HMO licence anywhere in Tower Hamlets. Mandatory HMO licensing only kicks in at five or more occupiers, so this property is not in scope of the national rule.
Five or more unrelated tenants sharing a kitchen and bathroom.
Needs a mandatory HMO licence anywhere in England. The five-or-more, two-or-more-households test is national, not council-specific. Tower Hamlets's additional HMO scheme covers the whole council, so its conditions stack on top of the mandatory licence.
Owner-occupier letting a room to one or two lodgers in their own home.
Letting to a lodger while you live in the property is exempt from HMO licensing in most cases. Selective licensing exemptions also normally cover owner-occupier lets.
Five students from at least two households sharing a converted house.
Needs a mandatory HMO licence anywhere in England. The five-or-more, two-or-more-households test is national, not council-specific. Tower Hamlets's additional HMO scheme covers the whole council, so its conditions stack on top of the mandatory licence.
The earliest scheme end date is 30 Sept 2026 (4 months away). If Tower Hamlets redesignates, every existing licence has to be re-applied for under the new scheme. Fees and conditions usually change between cycles.
A property licence does not transfer when a property changes hands. If you buy a let property that needs a licence under Tower Hamlets's rules, the existing licence ends and you need to apply for a new one in your own name. The seller's solicitor should disclose any existing licence and any open enforcement notices.
For conveyancing in Tower Hamlets, ask three things before exchange. First, is the property inside any current selective or additional HMO scheme area. Second, is there an active licence in the seller's name and on what conditions. Third, has the council issued a civil penalty, banning order or rent repayment order against the seller in the last six years.
Owner-occupiers buying to live in the property do not need a licence. The rules only apply when a property is rented out.
Anything on this page that you cannot find an answer to, the council's licensing team can confirm in minutes.