Tower Hamlets HMO Licence Fees 2026: Full Breakdown with Worked Examples

Tower Hamlets overhauled its licensing fee schedule on 1 April 2026, and the increases are significant. The additional HMO licence base fee jumped to £1,323.00 — a 75% rise. Mandatory HMO fees went to £977.00. And those are just the starting points before surcharges pile on.

The Fee Structure

Every Tower Hamlets property licence splits into two payments:

Part A (application processing) — non-refundable, paid when you submit your online application. This covers administrative processing, document validation and fit-and-proper vetting. You don't get Part A back even if the application is refused or you withdraw it.

Part B (licence grant) — paid after the council reviews your application and issues an Intention Notice. The licence is only granted once Part B is cleared.

Current Fees (Effective 1 April 2026)

The historical selective licensing fees (£897.00 new, £747.00 renewal) are no longer applicable since the scheme expired in September 2026.

The Surcharges That Add Up

Habitable room surcharge: £68.50 per room. This applies to every habitable room — bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, lounges. Kitchens, bathrooms and hallways are excluded. For a five-bedroom HMO with a shared living room, that's six rooms at £68.50 = £411.00 on top of the base fee.

Missing document charge: £112.50 (mandatory) or £157.50 (additional). If you submit an application with incomplete or unreadable documents, the council adds this charge per missing item to your Part B balance. Submit a gas safety certificate that's expired or an EICR with unresolved C1 defects, and you're paying extra before they even process the licence.

Floor plan preparation: £40.00 per hour. If your floor plans are inaccurate or not to scale, the council offers an in-house plan preparation service — at your cost.

Instalment surcharge: £47.50. The surcharge applies when the Part A or Part B amount is split into additional instalments. Pay each at its stated due time without splitting further.

Worked Examples

Three-bedroom flat, additional HMO (online):

• Base fee: £1,323.00
• Habitable rooms: 3 bedrooms + 1 living room = 4 rooms × £68.50 = £274.00
• Total: £1,597.00

Five-bedroom house, mandatory HMO (online):

• Base fee: £977.00
• Habitable rooms: 5 bedrooms + 1 living room = 6 rooms × £68.50 = £411.00
• Total: £1,388.00

Four-bedroom additional HMO, posted with one missing document:

• Base fee: £1,550.50
• Habitable rooms: 4 bedrooms + 1 living room = 5 rooms × £68.50 = £342.50
• Missing document: £157.50
• Total: £2,050.50

How to Avoid the Unnecessary Charges

Apply online (saves £170+ over postal for additional HMO). Gather every document before you start the portal process — gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, fire risk assessment, scaled floor plans and tenancy agreements. The portal runs a 90-day draft deletion timer, so don't start until everything is ready.

The Tower Hamlets Landlord Licensing Guide includes a document preparation checklist and fee calculator worksheet so you can work out your exact total before touching the portal — avoiding surcharges, missing document charges and the draft deletion trap.

See more England guides →