Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Tower Hamlets (July 2026)
The average private rent in Tower Hamlets is £2,439 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £456,898 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 6.4%, ranked 4 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Tower Hamlets
The average private rent across all property types is £2,439 a month (+3.0% on a year earlier). The regional median in London is £1,962.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £1,981 | £23,772 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £2,404 | £28,848 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £2,733 | £32,796 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £3,360 | £40,320 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Tower Hamlets: one to two bedrooms adds 21.4% to the rent, two to three adds 13.7% and three to four-plus adds 22.9% (England-and-Wales medians 27.3%, 20.9% and 40.9%). The biggest step here is three to four or more bedrooms — the size where an extra room earns most, and the first place to look when comparing a conversion against its cost.
House prices in Tower Hamlets
The average price paid is £456,898 (-13.1% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £893,866 |
| Semi-detached | £673,174 |
| Terraced | £695,459 |
| Flat | £439,424 |
Rents are outrunning prices in Tower Hamlets. Rents moved +3% over the year against −13.1% for prices — a gap of 16.1 points that lifts the gross yield a buyer sees today. Tower Hamlets ranks 216th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 313th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Tower Hamlets
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £2,404 | £439,424 | 6.6% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £2,733 | £695,459 | 4.7% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £2,733 | £673,174 | 4.9% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £3,360 | £893,866 | 4.5% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Tower Hamlets is on flats at 6.6%, against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type; the weakest is detached. Gross figures ignore service charges, which usually make flats the thinnest net yield of the four.
What that means for a landlord
- Gross yield 6.4% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 4 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.5%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £73,170 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 16% of EPCs lodged in Tower Hamlets over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 14% at D (EPC ratings in Tower Hamlets).
- Council tax: Band D in Tower Hamlets is £1,838 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Tower Hamlets).
Lender maths on the averages. At a 5.5% stress rate and 145% rent cover — the common buy-to-let convention — the average rent of £2,439 supports a loan of about £366,997, which is 80.3% of the average price. That clears a 75% loan-to-value purchase on the rent alone. Both numbers are conventions rather than rules — change them in the stress test.
Run the numbers for Tower Hamlets
- Yield calculator with £456,898 and £2,439 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £2,439 a month
- Rental income tax on £29,268 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in London
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | £1,927 | £403,032 | 5.7% | +2.8% |
| Lambeth | £2,519 | £548,034 | 5.5% | +4.2% |
| Barking and Dagenham | £1,696 | £371,030 | 5.5% | +2.8% |
| Hackney | £2,644 | £605,442 | 5.2% | +3.2% |
| Greenwich | £1,980 | £465,132 | 5.1% | +5.6% |
| Islington | £2,854 | £673,384 | 5.1% | +5.9% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Tower Hamlets · EPC ratings in Tower Hamlets.
Rents: ONS, Price Index of Private Rents (average monthly private rent by local authority, July 2026). Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (average price, June 2026). Gross yield = rent × 12 ÷ price, our calculation. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Rankings and medians are ours, across 316 local authorities.
Asked about this area
£2,439 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 3.0% on a year earlier.
£456,898 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 6.4% gross on the averages — £2,439 rent against a £456,898 price — ranking 4 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 6.6% gross (£2,404 rent on a £439,424 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +3% against prices −13.1% over the year — rents ahead, so yield is rising for a buyer today.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £73,170 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.