Borough of Tower Hamlets

Diverse, vibrant and with its finger well and truly on the pulse – that’s London’s Tower Hamlets. It’s what we like to call the Selfridges of the capital’s boroughs, in that it truly offers something for everyone. Art lover? Foodie? Or Fitness fanatic? Read on to discover developments that are rated the best places to live in Tower Hamlets. In addition, read reviews from residents who own or rent in Tower Hamlets.

4.47
Average Location Score

Excellent

59%

Very Good

31%

Average

8%

Disappointing

1%

Very Poor

1%

Best places to live in Borough of Tower Hamlets

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

Dock in Tower Hamlets

Regeneration in Tower Hamlets

This portion of the capitals seen much in the way of regeneration and innovation. In the past decade, this area of East London has been heavily invested in – from the celebrated Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to its slick property developments. And the highly anticipated arrival of Crossrail will revolutionise the area even further.

East End history

Tower Hamlets covers a large chunk of London’s historic East End, and so it’s easy to journey back in time here. Characterised by 19th-century docks, Victorian townhouses and tales of Jack the Ripper. Walking tours that tell the story of the area’s heritage come highly recommended.

View of Canary Warf's skyline

Modern pursuits

Perhaps the capital’s biggest oxymoron, Tower Hamlets offers just as many contemporary faces as it does traditional ones. In sought-after districts like Shoreditch, Bow and Stepney Green; modern galleries and work spaces share the roadsides with trendy cocktail bars, street food stalls and also pie and mash shops. These postcodes are hotspots for creative professionals, who frequent the artisan coffee shops by day, and enjoy the cutting-edge live music venues by night.

HomeViews reviewer says…
“Bow is a trendy neighbourhood with a good pub and café scene.”

DLR

Shopping in Tower Hamlets

The retail therapy scene is just as varied. Tower Hamlets offers everything from vintage clothes stores to treasure-trove antique dens. And residents are spoilt for choice when it comes to markets. Courtesy of big-hitters like Old Spitalfields, Brick Lane and the Colombia Road Flower Market. Hands down, these are the best places in the city to experience the authentic sights and sounds of the East End.

Tips from HomeViews reviewers…
“Chrisp Street market one of the area’s highlights, packed with everything from fruit and vegetables to clothing. Billingsgate Market is another London institution with an abundance of net-fresh and budget-friendly seafood.”

“Close to the (Whitechapel) station is Whitechapel Road Market, between Vallance Road and Cambridge Heath Road. The area has a large British Bangladeshi community, and you’ll find all manner of Asian spices and cooking ingredients for sale at this authentic street market.”

You can find out more about living in the area by reading reviews from residents. Click on the developments below to find out more about residents’ experiences and also, to discover the best places to live and rent in Tower Hamlets. Moreover, If there’s a property that you can’t see on HomeViews, you can add a new listing and leave your review here.

Reviews in Borough of Tower Hamlets

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High standards

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Feb 2024

– area is convenient for transport – I work on Liverpool Street and have many options to get to work (DLR, Elizabeth Line, bus etc).
– 30 second walk to a Tesco open till midnight which is very useful
– perfect distance from Canary Wharf – we get to enjoy it yet are away from its constant business

Please review your development:

It’s my first time renting (apart from private student accommodations) and they have definitely set the standards high. I feel like I’m at an adult student accommodation i.e. we’re very taken care of (maintenance, problems wise) and it’s also fun (events, activities wise).
Not sure if this is the 22 year old pov but my favourite thing is the activities they organise. the whole team are great but those who stand out are definitely Darian, Kam and Brenda. Brenda runs the cutest little book club, and Darian and Kam run other events e.g. cinema nights, halloween, Christmas parties etc. Darian is very caring and always goes above and beyond to ensure everyone has the best time and Kam is always so bubbly and brings life to everything.
thanks guys!! <3
maintenance are great too – they fix issues super duper quickly
the only thing I'd say is the lifts are a bit temperamental – one or the other is very regularly out of service which makes someone like me who's scared of lifts feel quite paranoid every time I'm in one lol

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I don’t really have anything to say for this. the building exceeded my expectations due to the team in charge of making us residents happy.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

haven’t had any issues as of yet. anything I’ve had was maintenance related and it was dealt with promptly.

4
Facilities
4
Design
5
Location
4
Value
4
Management
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Manager Response

Hi Sara,

Just reaching out to thank you very much for the kind review – your feedback goes along way and especially the names you have mentioned.

Kind Regards

Fine for a short number of years, but not long term

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Feb 2024

Ideal for commuting with good local amenities though comparative to other areas of the city. You have the best supermarkets in the country (Tian Tian, Waitrose, M&S). A local GP, Bupa, Vet and other major utilities. Most of the area is dog friendly and very safe compared to the wider city. Transport links are good with 4 alternatives into and out of the city.

Please review your development:

Balances out as pretty average. Concierge & maintenance team are excellent. Facilities are good, but nothing outstanding. Vertus are far more expensive in the area but the apartments are comparable, such as the Whardian which is a much nicer building. The Apartments are smaller than lower priced alternatives by size. The major negatives here are utility management – you have zero control over supplier of electricity and will be significant overcharged compared to the market.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I would have like to know the average costs by apartment for utilities. We’ve gone from £65 a month to over £400 on average, and this apartment is smaller than our last.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Any need for maintenance has been resolved quickly however complaints on utility company is ignored. We’ve raised several and they simply fall silent. The poor management of this is the number one reason we are leaving given the costs are 4X the average in the London

4
Facilities
3
Design
4
Location
2
Value
2
Management
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Manager Response

Dear Jason,

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave us a review.

We really appreciate your kind words on our onsite Concierge and Engineering teams and that you enjoy the local amenities of the Canary Wharf Estate.

Utility billing is managed by Community Utilities and Vertus have been working closely with this company to improve our resident’s experience, including arranging drop in mornings for our residents to meet with and Community Utilities.

Thanks again for your feedback and we hope you enjoyed your time living with Vertus.

Team Vertus

Amenities withdrawn, terrible customer service, misleading sales and marketing

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Feb 2024

Area is great – new bars and restaurants opening all the time. Great transport links. Clean streets. Security patrol.

Please review your development:

Concierge team are great – friendly, helpful but treated badly by management in my opinion. Before you consider moving here please read:

– Terrible communication, customer service and management (outside of concierge team). Zero communication about the termination of our Third Space gym membership when we all justify the higher than market rate rent because we get a £200+ gym membership included. As others have noted, the proposed ‘new’ gym in another building hasn’t even started construction and isn’t a reasonable alternative. So we’re without gym provision and we don’t know how long for. Responses to our complaints have been dismissive and insulting.

– I renewed my lease in Oct 23 (with a non-negotiable 10% rent increase way above inflation) and at no point was I informed that any of the amenities or benefits of tenancy would be changing during my lease term. They just refer back to terms of your contract (that says then can cancel or change any offerings at any time) which shows they don’t care about tenant satisfaction at all. It’s dishonest and a terrible example of customer service. Since I renewed they have also increased the hire fee of the dining room and tv room by 250% but use the fact Third Space have raised membership fees (by much less) as reason to cancel our memberships.

– Other things I was misled about when I originally moved in:
– Massive focus on being a dog-friendly building from their sales and marketing teams. What this actually means is you can have a dog in your apartment. In the private garden and across the whole of the Canary Wharf estate dogs cannot be off lead. Huge omission to not explain this to prospective tenants. They eventually put some astro turf on the roof.
– Big focus from sales team on the fact Vertus has ‘guest suites’ which are like hotel rooms you can book for guests. Important to me when I rent a studio. After I moved in and went to book with concierge I was told that the guest suites are only available to residents of the 2 other Vertus properties.

– Utilities are way above market rate and you have no option to seek another provider.

So to summarise, although this a beautiful place to live and the onsite team are lovely, only consider moving here if you’re happy to pay way above market rate for rent and utilities, don’t mind huge rent and amenity price increases, aren’t bothered about your dog having off lead exercise, aren’t bothered about gym provision, and don’t mind if the amenities you signed up for are withdrawn with little notice.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Dogs not allowed off lead, guest suites not available, utilities too expensive, gym membership would be cancelled with no alternative available (as of date posted), huge rent increases

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Dismissive, insulting, dishonest, terrible customer service

1
Facilities
3
Design
3
Location
1
Value
1
Management
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Manager Response

Dear Rebecca,

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience living with Vertus and we are sorry you feel you have had a negative experience.

At the point Vertus experienced a price increase in the cost of Third Space memberships for Third Space we communicated to our residents that we may be exploring alternative wellness offerings due to the significant increases in cost. This exploration of alternative offerings began in 2023 and communication was made at that time and again with sufficient notice once a decision was made this year. Vertus are endeavoring to ensure our residents receive regular updates on the progress of the new purpose built gym and other additions to the amenity offering we are have introduced such as the sharing of amenity spaces.

We understand the recent price increases we have implemented to certain amenity bookings have not been welcomed by our residents however we have had to review these hiring costs due to the increase in the cost to run and operate these spaces.

The introduction of the dog agility park on the roof terrace was implemented following direct feedback from our residents and to provide for an off lead space for our residents and their pets to exercise whilst also ensuring the shared private gardens was a space all residents, pet and non-pet owners, could use.

Guest Suites are not an offering 8 Water Street has had to date and it was felt offering this to 8 Water Street residents as part of the sharing of amenity spaces would lead to disappointment due to increased demand and a lack of availability. We have taken on board resident’s feedback at our recent Resident’s meeting and are looking into opening up this bookable space to 8 Water Street residents.

Utility billing is managed by a third party and Vertus have, based on feedback from our residents, pushed for an improvement in service including facilitating drop in sessions between this company and our residents.

Our resident’s opinions and satisfaction is imperative to Vertus and whilst we appreciate your dissatisfaction with the changes we have made we hope the above shows our resident’s satisfaction is always at the forefront of our minds when any decisions or changes are made.

Team Vertus

Dishonest and money-grabbing

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Feb 2024

Canary Wharf is a great place to live. Everything is within walking distance. Including my gym which they have now taken away from me

Please review your development:

DO NOT rent through Vertus – a complete RIP OFF!

Market and sell benefits of living in the development and then take them away once you sign the tenancy.

Paying a premium in rent because Third Soace membership was sold to me as a benefit only for it to be removed after 5 months of living here.

It’s not worth the risk signing a lease here – take your hard earned money elsewhere.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

That this company is dishonest. You can get more for your money elsewhere.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Dismissive and ineffective. Decisions seem to be made to max profits. Tell new tenants notices are available on a residents app from a year ago – putting the responsibility on us to go back through hundreds of posts to find the communications.

1
Facilities
1
Design
1
Location
1
Value
1
Management
User submitted image of  8 Water Street, E14
User submitted image of  8 Water Street, E14
User submitted image of  8 Water Street, E14
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Dear KT,

Thank you for your review and we are sorry to hear you feel you have had a negative experience with Vertus.

We are aware the change in wellness offering has not been well received by our residents however communication has been made at the point an alternative offering was being explored, and again once a decision had been made on the change to the offering. Again, whilst we acknowledge some residents are not happy with these changes we have given reasonable notice and agreed to extend Third Space membership for a further month.

Our resident’s opinions and satisfaction is imperative to Vertus and whilst we appreciate your dissatisfaction with the changes we have made we are committed to ensuring our residents have the best rental experience with us and always welcome and encourage feedback on how we can improve our service.

Thanks again.

Team Vertus