High rents driving turnover and gentrification in Tower Hamlets

Rapid resident turnover and rising rents signal shifting demographics and deepening gentrification in Tower Hamlets.

Tower Hamlets recorded the highest proportion of households occupied by new tenants since 2021, according to the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) published last year in July. 

The analysis shows that in 2023, more than a third of the properties in the borough were occupied by new residents, indicating changes to various neighbourhoods and their characteristics.

Neighbourhoods in the Isle of Dogs saw a high proportion of properties occupied by new residents.

Talking to the Slice, Dr Alan Mace, an associate professor of Urban Planning Studies at the London School of Economics, notes that the high turnover rate in neighbourhoods in and around the docklands could be due to there being more private rentals. Canary Wharf is a major financial centre that has seen an uptick in luxury apartments. 

However, areas including Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Aldgate and Bethnal Green also saw a high proportion of properties occupied by new residents, contributing to the high resident turnover in the borough. 

Mace says private renters are now reshaping these communities in ways previously only seen when long-term homeowners laid down roots. He attributes this to the rise of buy-to-let schemes. 

According to data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), over 33,000 homes in Tower Hamlets are managed by privately registered providers, the highest in the capital. 

“Often, when the landlord lets the property, it goes to somebody in a higher income group. So we argue that this shift from owner occupation to buy-to-let is also facilitating a form of gentrification,” Mace said. 

Last month, an analysis found that the top three most gentrified neighbourhoods in the capital were all located in Tower Hamlets. 

The research, produced in partnership with the WPI Economics consultancy, the Trust, defined gentrification as ‘the influx of more affluent residents in lower income areas, relative to the residents that were already there, and the displacement of the previous population’.

The analysis found that residents’ pay in Spitalfields increased by 45% between 2012 and 2020. In Aldgate and Bethnal Green South, residents pay increased by 29% and 27% respectively. 

“It’s not as though low-income groups are simply disappearing from London, and in absolute numerical terms, they’re getting bigger, but it’s just that the higher-end groups, the higher managerial professional group, are getting proportionally much bigger,” Mace said. 

The arrival of private renting in the working-class areas of Tower Hamlets puts additional pressure on property availability for local communities. 

Campaign director at National Residential Landlords Association, Chris Norris, said that the government needs to ‘adopt pro-growth measures which provide enough rental accommodation for those in need of it.’ 

‘This can be done by encouraging landlords to stay in the market and invest in long-term lets, giving renters increased access to high-quality homes.’

Mace also highlights that the ethnic dynamics of gentrification are often overlooked, particularly the arrival of middle-class renters from diverse backgrounds.

In the 1970s, large numbers of Bangladeshi migrants settled in the UK, with Tower Hamlets becoming a major community hub.

Recent data suggests an eastward shift of Bangladeshi-origin residents out of Tower Hamlets into neighbouring boroughs such as Newham, likely due to increasing rents pricing local residents out of the area.

Yet, the borough continues to have a high concentration of Bangladeshi British residents, highlighting the arrival of middle-class Bangladeshi British renters into Tower Hamlets.

According to Mace, there’s an ‘unspoken’ image of gentrification being the ‘white middle class moving into black working class areas’. In Tower Hamlets, rising rental prices are attracting more affluent British Bangladeshis to the area.

Tower Hamlets is undergoing profound demographic shifts, shaped by a surge in private rentals, rising incomes, and changing ethnic dynamics. While the borough remains a cultural stronghold for long-established communities, the growing presence of higher-income renters, both local and international, is transforming its social fabric. 

The challenge lies in shaping growth that works for everyone. Urban planners, policymakers, and community groups have an opportunity to rethink housing strategies, supporting long-term renters, expanding access to affordable homes, and protecting the cultural heritage that defines the borough.

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