Tower Hamlets
Verified local trades for Tower Hamlets
London Heroes covers Tower Hamlets around the clock. Every professional is identity-checked by a human, has their credentials verified against evidence and watched for expiry, and every payment is held securely until you confirm the work is done.
Landlord licensing in Tower Hamlets
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Tower Hamlets may also operate additional or selective licensing.
- Selective licensing
- In operation. A selective licensing designation covers part of the borough only. The renewed statutory designation notice (a .docx document linked from the council's selective-licensing page) names the covered area as Weavers, Whitechapel, Spitalfields and Banglatown (pre-22 May 2014 ward boundaries), and applies to privately rented property occupied by one household (or a maximum of two households comprising two occupiers in total). HMOs in those areas are licensed under the additional or mandatory schemes instead, not selective. The notice states verbatim: 'The Designation was made on the 28th April 2021 ... and shall come into force on the 1st October 2021. The Designation shall cease to have effect on the 1st October 2026.' The council provides a postcode map to check whether a specific address falls inside the designated area — landlords should use it rather than relying on ward names.Coverage: Weavers, Whitechapel, Spitalfields and Banglatown (pre-22 May 2014 ward boundaries), per the statutory designation notice. 'Stepney Green', which several commercial third-party licensing sites list as included, is not named anywhere in the statutory notice and should be disregarded.Designated: Made 28 April 2021; in force from 1 October 2021; ceases to have effect on 1 October 2026 — per the statutory designation notice.
- Additional HMO licensing
- In operation. Borough-wide additional HMO licensing. The council's page states the designation requires '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. It expressly includes flats in purpose-built blocks of three or more flats occupied by five or more tenants in two or more households, and it absorbed the HMOs that previously sat inside the selective licensing area. The council also licenses Section 257 (converted building) HMOs under an additional scheme. Published fees (council fees and charges page, applications on or after 1 April 2026): additional HMO licence £1,323 online (Part A £618 / Part B £787.50) or £1,550.50 by post; mandatory HMO licence £977 online (Part A £453.50 / Part B £583.50) or £1,147 by post, plus £68.50 per habitable room; new selective licence £897 online (Part A £422 / Part B £530), selective renewal £747 online.Coverage: Borough-wide — the whole of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, described by the council as covering all wards.Designated: Designated by the Mayor in Cabinet on 25 October 2023; in force from 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2029 unless revoked earlier.
Mandatory HMO licensing applies as elsewhere in England (five or more occupiers in two or more households). The commercially important point for Tower Hamlets in 2026 is that additional licensing is borough-wide and runs to 2029, while the smaller selective designation ends on 1 October 2026 — any landlord in Weavers, Whitechapel, Spitalfields or Banglatown should check the council's map and current pages rather than assume the position. The council also warns on its own site that licence applications are currently taking up to 12 months to process, and that part-completed applications are deleted after 90 days.
Checked against the council’s own pages on 21 July 2026. Licensing schemes are five-year designations that expire and get redesignated on their own timetables — always confirm on Tower HamletsCouncil’s licensing pages before applying or paying.
What Tower Hamlets is built of — and what that means for repairs
Tower Hamlets combines three very different layers of housing. There is a large post-war and mid-century council estate stock across Bethnal Green, Poplar, Bow and Stepney, much of it system-built or concrete-framed low- and high-rise blocks now in mixed council, housing association and leaseholder ownership. Alongside it sits a significant stock of Georgian and Victorian terraces and warehouse conversions in Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Bow and Wapping, much of it in conservation areas or listed. The third layer is the very large volume of post-1990 private high-density new-build in Canary Wharf, the Isle of Dogs, Blackwall and Aldgate — tall residential towers held on long leases with service charges and communal plant.
Common repair issues in Tower Hamlets
- Building safety and remediation work on tall residential blocks — external wall systems, fire doors and compartmentation — affecting leaseholders in the borough's many high-rise buildings
- Communal plant in blocks: shared heat networks, district heating and centralised hot water systems, where individual flat owners cannot simply change their own boiler
- Mechanical ventilation (MVHR) and overheating in sealed, highly glazed new-build flats, and condensation where ventilation is switched off or unmaintained
- Solid-wall damp, penetrating damp and sash window decay in Georgian and Victorian terraces, compounded by conservation area and listed building restrictions on replacement windows and external insulation
- Concrete repair, flat roof and single-glazed window issues in mid-century estate blocks
- Restricted access and lift/scaffold logistics for repairs in high-density blocks, and freeholder/managing agent permission requirements before works can start
Areas we cover in Tower Hamlets
- Canary Wharf
- Isle of Dogs
- Bethnal Green
- Whitechapel
- Spitalfields
- Bow
- Poplar
- Wapping
Nearby boroughs
London Heroes covers every neighbouring borough the same way — verified trades, day or night.
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Services in Tower Hamlets
Ordered for what’s common in Tower Hamlets’s housing — every service is available to book here, day or night.
Browse all servicesStraight answers for Tower Hamlets
How do I find a verified plumber or electrician in Tower Hamlets?
Describe the job at londonheroes.co.uk/request. Every professional on London Heroes has passed a human-reviewed identity check, holds verified credentials (Gas Safe for gas work, competent-person scheme membership for electrical work, public liability insurance) displayed live on their public Hero Passport, and is monitored daily for credential expiry. London Heroes covers Tower Hamlets around the clock.
How does payment protection work on London Heroes?
You pay when you book, but the money is held securely and only released to the tradesperson when you confirm the work is complete. If something goes wrong before you confirm, raising a dispute freezes the money automatically while a named member of the team investigates — outcomes include partial or full refund. The platform fee is a transparent 10%, paid by the professional.
Are the tradespeople on London Heroes vetted?
Yes — and by a human, not an algorithm. Verification includes photographic ID, a selfie holding the document, business registration for limited companies, and evidence for every declared credential. A lapsed credential shows as expired on the professional's public Passport rather than being hidden, and reviews can only be written by clients of real, paid jobs.
What does it cost to use London Heroes in Tower Hamlets?
Nothing extra: you pay the professional's quoted price and no booking fees on top. The platform's 10% commission is paid by the professional out of the job price. Cancel before work starts and you receive a full refund.
Do landlords need a property licence in Tower Hamlets?
Tower Hamlets operates additional HMO licensing borough-wide until 31 March 2029 and selective licensing until 1 October 2026; the exact coverage of selective licensing is set out on our Tower Hamlets page. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless. Checked against Tower Hamlets Council’s own pages on 21 July 2026 — confirm on the council’s website before applying, as designations expire and are renewed on their own timetables.
A trade professional in Tower Hamlets?
Founding heroes get a live, public verification passport — identity, credentials and verified reviews on one page — plus payment-protected jobs at a straight 10%.