Tower Hamlets Mandatory HMO Licence: Thresholds, Fees and Application

Mandatory HMO licensing is the national baseline that applies everywhere in England, Tower Hamlets included. If five or more people from two or more separate households share your property's kitchen, bathroom or toilet, you need a mandatory HMO licence — and there's no expiry date on this requirement.

The Threshold

Under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, as expanded by the 2018 Prescribed Description Order, mandatory HMO licensing applies to any property occupied by:

• Five or more persons, forming
• Two or more separate households, who
• Share one or more basic amenities (kitchen, bathroom, or toilet)

The old three-storey rule was removed in October 2018. A ground-floor flat with five sharers from different families needs a mandatory licence just as much as a three-storey Victorian terrace.

For counting purposes, a "household" follows Section 258 of the Housing Act 2004: family members including married or cohabiting couples, parents, children, siblings, and step-relations. Five unrelated students sharing a house form five separate households. A couple living with three friends form two households with five occupants — that meets the mandatory threshold.

How It Differs from the Additional Scheme

Tower Hamlets runs both mandatory and additional HMO licensing borough-wide, so the two schemes create a continuous net:

The distinction matters because fees differ. Mandatory HMO licensing is cheaper per application — £977.00 online versus £1,323.00 for additional — but the habitable room surcharge of £68.50 per room applies to both, and mandatory HMO properties tend to be larger with more rooms.

Current Fee Schedule (from April 2026)

For a mandatory HMO licence submitted online:

• Part A (processing): £453.50
• Part B (licence grant): £523.50
• Total base fee: £977.00
• Habitable room surcharge: £68.50 per room
• Missing document charge: £112.50

Postal applications cost more: £1,147.00 base. The £68.50 room surcharge applies to bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms — not kitchens, bathrooms or hallways. A five-bedroom HMO with a shared living room would add six rooms × £68.50 = £411.00, bringing the total to £1,388.00.

Application Process

Applications go through the Tower Hamlets online property licensing portal. The process follows nine steps: property address lookup, scheme selection (mandatory HMO), identifying the applicant and proposed licence holder, entering room measurements and occupancy details, uploading safety certificates, completing fit-and-proper declarations, paying Part A, awaiting validation, and paying Part B when the council issues an Intention Notice.

The application is legally "duly made" only when all documents, property details and Part A payment are received. Missing or unreadable uploads trigger the £112.50 charge per item. The portal has a 90-day draft deletion timer — if you start an application and don't submit within 90 days, the system erases everything.

For overseas landlords, Tower Hamlets requires a UK-resident manager or agent to be named as co-licence holder or nominated manager.

Licence Duration

Mandatory HMO licences are granted for a fixed term; local guidance identifies three-year and five-year terms. Check the expiry date stated on your licence. Unlike the additional HMO scheme, mandatory licensing has no scheme expiry — it's a permanent national requirement.

Submit renewal applications three to four weeks before your licence expires. A valid renewal submitted before expiry maintains lawful operation under statutory bridging provisions while the council processes it.

The Tower Hamlets Landlord Licensing Guide covers every step of the mandatory HMO application in detail — the document checklist, fee calculator with worked examples, portal walkthrough, and an ongoing compliance tracker for the licence term.

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