I am an accredited domestic energy assessor covering all of Tower Hamlets: Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Stepney and Shadwell (E1), Wapping (E1W), Bethnal Green (E2), Bow, Mile End and Bromley-by-Bow (E3), and Poplar, Limehouse, the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf (E14). The borough sits next to Newham, where I am based, so a same-day or next-day visit is usually possible, and there is no travel surcharge anywhere inside Greater London.
| Households (2021 census) | 120,539 |
|---|---|
| Rented privately | 38.2% (London 30.0%) |
| Owned outright or with a mortgage | 23.1% (London 45.2%) |
| Social rented | 35.9% (London 23.1%) |
| Households living in a flat | 87.8% (London 54.0%) |
| …of which in a converted house | 2.3% of all households (London 11.1%) |
| Households in a house | 12.0% (London 45.9%) |
| Typical (median) EPC score | 79, band C (London 70) |
| Homes with an EPC rated C or above | 82% (London 58%) |
| Selective licence | Ended 30 September 2026; licences already issued run until they expire |
| Additional HMO licence (3 or more people from 2 or more households) | Whole borough, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029; £1,323 online |
| Documents for a licence | Include floor plans of the property with room sizes |
Sources: Census 2021, Office for National Statistics, tables TS054 (tenure) and TS044 (accommodation type) via Nomis; London means the 33 local authorities added together. Licensing: Tower Hamlets Council’s selective licensing, additional licensing, “What do I need to make an application?”, licence fees and penalties pages, checked 22 October 2026. EPC figures: ONS, “Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales” (28 October 2025), the latest certificate for each home lodged in the ten years to March 2025, at the score when it was assessed; homes without an EPC are not counted.
Do landlords in Tower Hamlets still need a selective licence?
Not for a new let. Tower Hamlets ran selective licensing in three wards — Weavers, Whitechapel, and Spitalfields & Banglatown — from 1 October 2021, and the scheme ended on 30 September 2026. The council takes no new selective applications, and from 1 October 2026 there is no selective licensing in the borough. Licences already issued stay valid until they expire, normally five years after issue, and their holders must keep to the licence conditions until then. The council says it is considering options for a new scheme and commissioned a report on the private rented sector due in October 2026, so it is worth checking again before your next let.
Shared homes: the additional licence and its floor plan
The whole borough has been under additional licensing since 1 April 2024, and the scheme runs until 31 March 2029. It covers any privately let house or flat where three or more people live as two or more households and share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, with at least one of them paying rent, whatever the number of storeys. It also covers flats with five or more tenants in two or more households in purpose-built blocks of three or more flats, which mandatory licensing has not covered since October 2018. The online fee is £1,323, or £618 and £787.50 if you pay in two parts. Larger shared houses need a mandatory HMO licence: £977 online, plus £68.50 for each habitable room.
Whichever licence it is, the council lists the documents it needs: a gas safety certificate, an electrical safety certificate for flats and HMOs, and floor plans of the property with room sizes. Its fee list also includes an administration charge for missing documents (£157.50 on an additional licence) and an hourly charge of £40 for preparing floor plans. The room sizes matter because Tower Hamlets sets minimum bedroom sizes: 8.5 m² for one person and 13 m² for two where the kitchen is in a separate room, or 13 m² and 18 m² where the kitchen is in the bedroom itself. A smaller room will not normally count as a bedroom, though the council may use discretion where there is enough other shared space, and no room under 6.5 m² counts in any circumstances.
A laser-measured floor plan shows every room with its dimensions, so booking the EPC and floor plan together, from £123, covers both documents in one visit. Letting a licensable home without a licence can lead to prosecution and an unlimited fine, or a financial penalty of up to £40,000, and to a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent. You can check any address on City Hall’s property licence checker; the council’s licensing pages were checked on 22 October 2026.
What the assessment looks at in a Tower Hamlets home
How homes in Tower Hamlets score today. The ONS’s latest figures use each home’s most recent EPC lodged in the ten years to March 2025. The typical (median) score here is 79, band C, against 70 across London, and 82% of those homes are rated C or above (London 58%). That is the highest share of any local authority in England and Wales in the ONS figures. Homes built before 1929 have a median of 66, against 84 for homes built since 2012; flats and maisonettes come out at 79, terraced houses at 68. How every London borough compares.
Nearly nine in ten Tower Hamlets households live in a flat (87.8%), and 80.7% live in a purpose-built block — twice the London share, and second only to the City of London. Just 8.8% live in a terraced house, so most EPCs here are for flats in blocks of every age.
Council estates, from the Boundary Estate to Balfron Tower
Tower Hamlets has some of London’s best-known public housing: the Boundary Estate in Bethnal Green, which replaced the Old Nichol slum in 1900; the Lansbury Estate in Poplar, built for the 1951 Festival of Britain; and Ernő Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower. The Isle of Dogs once had the highest concentration of council housing in England. In a block, the rating turns on the flat’s position — how many of its walls face the outside, and whether there is a heated home above and below — and on the heating, so tell me when you book whether the flat has its own boiler or is on a communal system.
Warehouses and Docklands flats
3.5% of households live in a converted building other than a house, such as a former warehouse — nearly three times the London share of 1.2%. Wapping’s warehouses began to be converted into flats in the 1980s, and the London Docklands Development Corporation brought new housing to the former industrial land along the river, with more built on the Isle of Dogs since. A flat finished in the last ten years probably already has an EPC from when it was built, so check whether it is still valid before booking a new one.
The Georgian and Victorian streets that survived
Over a third of Stepney’s housing was destroyed in the Blitz, and in the 1960s most of its remaining streets gave way to tower blocks and estates. Georgian and Victorian houses survive in pockets — Arbour Square, the eastern side of Stepney Green and the streets around Matlock Street — and Stepney Green is a conservation area. Houses of that age usually have solid walls, and without evidence of added insulation the assessment records them as built.
Selling a flat in Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets has the lowest share of owner-occupiers in London: 23.1% of households own their home, against 45.2% across the capital. If you are one of them and selling, the EPC must be ordered before the flat goes on the market — the sellers’ guide covers the timing and whether an older certificate will still do.
Prices
- Domestic EPC from £69
- EPC + floor plan from £123, in one visit
- Floor plan only from £69
Guide prices by size, the ones that matter for most flats: £69 up to 52 square metres and £75 from 53 to 70. The same anywhere in London, confirmed in writing before you book. How EPC prices compare across London.
Common questions
Do I need a selective licence in Tower Hamlets?
Not for a new let. The selective licensing scheme in Weavers, Whitechapel and Spitalfields & Banglatown ended on 30 September 2026, and no new applications are taken. Licences already issued remain valid until they expire, and their holders must keep to the conditions until then.
Which homes need an additional licence in Tower Hamlets?
Any privately let house or flat in the borough where three or more people live as two or more households, share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, and at least one of them pays rent. The scheme runs from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029, and the online fee is £1,323.
Does the Tower Hamlets licence application need a floor plan?
Yes. The council lists floor plans of the property with room sizes among the documents it needs, along with gas and electrical safety certificates. A laser-measured floor plan costs from £69 on its own, or from £123 with an EPC in the same visit.
What are the minimum bedroom sizes in a Tower Hamlets HMO?
Where the kitchen is in a separate room, 8.5 square metres for one person and 13 for two; where the kitchen is in the room, 13 and 18. Smaller rooms will not normally count as bedrooms, though the council may use discretion if there is enough other shared space, and no room under 6.5 square metres counts in any circumstances.
My flat is in a new development. Does it already have an EPC?
Probably, if it was finished in the last ten years: new homes get an EPC when they are completed, and it is valid for ten years. Check the date on the government register before booking a new one.
Nearby
Next door: Hackney, Newham and the City of London, with Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich across the river. I cover every London borough.