Additional licensing

Additional Licensing Scheme 2023 Designation

The Mayor in Cabinet on the 25 October 2023 designated the whole Borough of Tower Hamlets as an area for additional licensing. The designation will be enforced from the 1 April 2024 and will be in force until the 31 March 2029 unless revoked earlier under section 60 of the Housing Act 2004.

The effect of the designation will require all privately let properties, including flats which are occupied by three or more persons comprising of two or more households, irrespective of the number of storeys to be licensed.

Multi-let properties

This designation also includes all relevant multi-let properties in the selective licensing area from the 1 April 2024. The information on the pages will be updated when the new additional licensing scheme is in force.

See the Notice of Designation of Area for Additional Licensing for Houses and Flats in Multiple Occupation

The Cabinet papers that brought the designation into force can be reviewed at: Tower Hamlets Council - Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 25 October 2023, 5.30pm

Article 4 Directions

The council has confirmed an Article 4 direction to remove the permitted development right for the change of use from a residential dwelling (C3) to a small HMO (C4). As well as an Article 4 direction to remove permitted development rights for changes of use from shops, restaurants, financial and professional services and offices (Class E uses) (including buildings where these uses are combined with residential) to a residential dwelling (C3 use class).

This means that Planning Permission is required for these changes of use and should be applied for from the council. 

Apply for planning permission.

Additional Licensing Scheme

From 1 April 2019, the council introduced an ‘Additional’ licensing scheme for multi-occupied premises under the provisions within Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004.

As of 1 April 2024 the Additional Licensing Scheme will cover the whole borough including the current Selective licensing designation (Spitalfields and Banglatown, Weavers, Whitechapel pre-2014 wards).

If you require any further information, please look at the Selective Licensing Scheme page.

The following wards are included in the Additional Licensing Scheme:

• Island Gardens
• Canary Wharf
• Blackwall and Cubitt Town
• Poplar
• Lansbury
• Limehouse
• Mile End
• Bromley South
• Bromley North
• Weavers
• St. Dunstan’s
• Stepney Green
• Shadwell
• St. Katherine and Wapping
• St. Peters
• Bethnal Green
• Bow West
• Bow East
• Spitalfields and Banglatown
• Whitechapel

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

An HMO is a house or a flat which is occupied by three or four unrelated persons, who do not form a single household  and share amenities such as bathrooms– this definition is supported by Sections 254, 257 and 258 of the Housing Act 2004.

It’s sometimes called a ‘house share’.

An HMO could be a:

• house split into separate bedsits
• shared house or flat, where the sharers are not members of the same family
• hostel
• bed-and-breakfast hotel that is not just for holidays
• shared accommodation for students – although many halls of residence and other types of student accommodation owned by educational establishments are not classed as HMOs.

There are two current HMO licensing schemes in the borough; Mandatory HMO Licence and Additional Licensing. Tower Hamlets also has a Selective Licensing Scheme which helps people in more extreme conditions. 

Tower Hamlets Additional Licensing Scheme

The Tower Hamlets Additional Licensing Scheme includes all properties were there;

• are three or more people living as
• two or more households and
• they share facilities such as a bathroom or kitchen and
• at least one of the tenants pays rent.

If the property has five or more occupants living as two or more households you may need a mandatory licence excluding blocks of flats. 

This Additional Licensing Scheme also includes flats with five or more tenants living as two or more households in purpose built blocks with three or more flats.

Following changes to mandatory HMO licensing that came into force on 1 October 2018, purpose-built flat blocks with 3+ self-contained flats are no longer within the mandatory scheme.

Applying for an additional licence

The application form is online. Please read the guidance notes to ensure that you make your application successfully.

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.

Apply for a Additional Licence

Amenities and rooms sizes

Tower Hamlets has adopted a set of amenity and room size standards at its October 2018 Cabinet meeting.

Any rooms below the Tower Hamlets minimum space standard above will not normally be considered suitable for sleeping accommodation although discretion may be granted if there is sufficient other communal space available to the occupiers. No rooms below 6.5m2 will be considered as suitable for sleeping rooms under any circumstances.

The amenity standard assures that residents have access to sufficient number of cooking and bathing facilties etc. You can see the standards required here.

Length of the licence term

The licence is valid for 5 years in Tower Hamlets assuming no significant changes to the property or the ownership in that time. If changes do occur within the licence period, the licence holder must inform the council. The Council issue a licence for a shorter term under some circumstances.

Licensing Register

The Housing Act 2004 requires the council to hold a Register of Additional licensed properties in the borough.