Finding a home
Tower Hamlets Housing List
If you want to rent a home managed by Tower
Hamlets Homes or a social landlord in Tower Hamlets – you must
‘register’ for housing.You do this by applying to join the Tower
Hamlets housing list.
You can bid (apply) to rent a home if you are
accepted onto the housing list.
You must register a bid for a home to be
considered for it. (If you are a vulnerable resident and have
applied to auto bid you will automatically be considered for the
property types and areas you have chosen.)
The Council advertise homes that become
available to let each week including the homes of partner social
landlords in the following places:
How to bid
- Log onto the Tower Hamlets Homeseekers
website
- Use the automated telephone line on 0845 270
2400
(available in Bengali, Somali, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Urdu as
well as English)
- Autobid (only available for vulnerable
residents)
For more information about the Housing
List or other housing options, please go to the
council’s web site, contact the council’s letting service on
020 7364 2826 or email:lettings@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Other ways to find a home
Seaside & Country Homes
Seaside & Country homes is a
housing mobility scheme for London’s social housing tenants who are
aged 60 and above. The scheme has a portfolio of one and two
bedroom flats and bungalows across the South and East of England,
mostly in seaside towns or in rural countryside
areas. Applicants can be considered for housing in up to nine
areas.
Renting Privately
Theses are helpful tips to guide tenants into
considering renting in the private rented sector.Please use this
information to discuss what this option of rehousing entails.
If you are looking for somewhere to live long term,
you need to think about what kind of accommodation you
want. This will depend on what you can afford and what is
available in your area. You may not be able to find exactly
what you would like. If you are on benefits, some landlords
may not be willing to rent to you. You need to be
realistic. Consider:
a) how much you can afford to pay each
week
b) what facilities you want (e.g. central
heating, telephone, garden)
c) what size property you need, (e.g. bedsit
or a two bedroom flat)
d) the location, (e.g. somewhere close to
public transport, shops, friends etc.)
e) who you want to live with, e.g. whether
you want to be a lodger in your landlord’s
home, live on your own, or have
flatmates.
Finding privately rented accommodations via local
newspapers/magazines
These often have a daily or weekly section on
rented accommodation and flat shares. Copies will be
available in libraries.
Personal contacts
Ask friends, family and colleagues.
Shop windows/notice boards
Try notice boards in community centres, libraries
or bookshops, as well as newsagents. If possible, check the
date the advert was put up, otherwise the place may have already
been rented out.
Letting Agencies
You can get details of local letting agencies from
advice centres and the Yellow Pages. They may also have
websites advertising accommodation. Letting agencies may charge you
for some services. You cannot get any help to pay for agency
fees. Some agencies ask for a week’s rent for finding the
accommodation. Others do not charge tenants, but charge the
landlord. Before accepting, or handing over any money, ask the
agency if it charges for:
a) finding a place.
b) tenancy agreements and inventories.
c) collecting the rent.
d) renewing your tenancy agreement when the
initial contract ends.
e) administration costs, such as phone calls
and postage.
Don’t pay agency fees before you have seen a
property you like, as there is no guarantee that the agency will
find you a home. It is illegal for a letting agency to charge you a
fee unless you accept accommodation from them. They cannot
charge you for taking your details or giving you a list of
addresses. If you are wrongly charged, you should report it to
the Council – it can prosecute the agency.
Advice Centres/Day Centres
These may keep a list of local private landlords or
letting agents. They may have been contacted directly by
landlords with property to let, or run a lodgings scheme.
Internet
Many local papers and letting agencies advertise
vacancies on the internet, which may be updated regularly. You
can get free access to the internet in libraries and some advice
centres.
Advertise yourself
You can put an advert in a paper or a shop, saying
what type of place you want and how much you can afford to pay.