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Is my rented home licensed? Tower Hamlets

Which property licensing schemes run in Tower Hamlets, whether the council publishes its register as a file we can check, and what the tribunal has decided for homes there. Enter a postcode to check one address:

Licensing schemes in Tower Hamlets

Mandatory HMO licensing In force everywhere

Applies everywhere in England: a house or flat shared by 5 or more people from 2 or more households needs a licence.

Additional HMO licensing In force

Covers the whole council area, 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2029. Smaller HMOs (for example 3 or 4 sharers) need a licence here too.

Borough-wide; the selective scheme ended 30 Sep 2026 and a new one is being considered.

Scheme details were checked on 17 Oct 2026 from the council's own pages; whether a part-borough scheme covers a particular postcode comes from the Greater London Authority's licence-area map when you check an address. Schemes start, end and get renewed; the council's page is the current word.

The council's register

3,600 licences on Tower Hamlets's published register, covering shared houses (HMOs) only, which the licence checker can look up by address.

additional: copy of 17 Oct 2026.
hmo (mandatory): copy of 17 Oct 2026.

Licence holders and managers are named on the council's register; they are never shown here. A licence on the register says one was granted; it doesn't say whether one was needed or held for an earlier period, and an application may be pending, which the register doesn't show.

Ending soon

None of the additional or selective schemes we hold for Tower Hamlets ends in the next six months.

106 of the 3,600 licences on the register expire by 20 Jan 2027 (copy of 17 Oct 2026); 3 have no expiry date on the register.

What the tribunal decided in Tower Hamlets

115 rent repayment order decisions in Tower Hamlets: 85% of the 110 with a known outcome ended in an order; typical amount ordered per tenant £4,680 (median, n=83).

56 rent increase decisions in Tower Hamlets: what the tribunal decided when tenants challenged a Section 13 notice.

Past decisions are not a prediction. The tribunal decides each case on its facts.

Check an addressWhich schemes cover a postcode in Tower Hamlets, and whether the address is on the register we hold. Rent repayment order packThe licence position, the most the tribunal could order, comparable orders nearby and how to apply, as one PDF. Ask Tower Hamlets what its register showsA letter template to the council's private sector housing team. Tower Hamlets's register pageThe council's own search or file. Shelter on HMO licensingShelter's guide for tenants. GOV.UK on rent repayment ordersThe official guidance, the form and the fees.

This is public data about schemes and registers, not a finding about any home. Whether a licence was needed, and whether one was held, is for the council and, in a dispute, the tribunal. Contains public sector information from Tower Hamlets's published pages and register.