Licence fees and charges

Paying the fee

IMPORTANT NOTICE – Licensing Fees from 1 April 2026

New licensing fees apply to all applications received on or after 1 April 2026, as approved by the Mayor in Cabinet on 7 January 2026 and 28 January 2026, and adopted by Full Council on 25 February 2026. The updated fee schedule is published in the tables below.

Please note: The Council’s online licensing portal is currently being updated to reflect the new fee amounts. During this transitional period, the portal may display or collect the previous fee. The fees published on this page are the correct fees payable.

If you submit an application through the portal and the fee collected is less than the published 2026/27 fee, the Council will contact you to arrange payment of the outstanding balance. Your application will not be processed until the correct Part A fee has been received in full. No licence will be granted until all fees, including Part B, have been paid.

We apologise for any inconvenience during this transition. If you have any questions, please contact the Housing Licensing team at housinglicensing@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

These fees apply from 1 April 2026. They are reviewed annually to ensure that the schemes are cost neutral. Please ensure that your property is not exempted before making your application. Paying the full feeThe full fee can be paid at the time of the application.

We recommended you pay the full fee upfront because you will save the additional costs.

Paying in two parts

You are able to pay the fee in two parts:

1. The first payment is due at the time of the application and covers the administration costs of processing the licence.
2. The second part of the fee, is for the enforcement and management of the licensing scheme and will be due before the final licence is granted.

The higher administration fee for paying in two parts reflects the extra costs incurred by the council of processing two payments. The final licence will not be issued until the full fee has been paid.

Bulk payments

Bulk payments can be taken for agents with multiple properties.

How to pay

The fee can be paid using a UK based debit or credit card. 

Mandatory HMO Licensing fee

Additional HMO Licensing Fee

Selective Licensing

Charges for serving statutory notices

Housing Act 2004 Part 1 Enforcement Notice served. The fee for serving Statutory Notices is £845.