Tower Hamlets to convert four Marsh Wall offices into 180 temporary homes for families

Tower Hamlets Council's cabinet has approved the purchase of four office buildings at 191, 193, 195 and 197 Marsh Wall, Canary Wharf, to convert into about 180 homes for families in temporary accommodation.

The council said the decision, taken on Wednesday 21 October, would deliver 167 two-bedroom and 13 three-bedroom homes. It wants the scheme to cut its reliance on placements outside the borough and on nightly paid accommodation.

According to the council, more than 3,100 households are in temporary accommodation in Tower Hamlets, of which about 2,700 are families. It said the number of homeless households is rising by about 11% a year.

Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: "By bringing these buildings into council use, we have an opportunity to create around 180 family-sized homes and provide better accommodation for local people who need it most."

Home type	Homes
Two-bedroom	167
Three-bedroom	13

The purchase

The council's announcement did not give a purchase price, name the vendor, or set out a timetable or planning route for the conversion of the offices.

Cllr Abu Talha Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Governance, said: "Councils across London are facing unprecedented pressures from rising homelessness and temporary accommodation costs."

The council's budget and strategy

The acquisition follows two decisions earlier this year. On 18 February 2026 the cabinet approved a Housing Strategy for 2026 to 2036, which says more than 30,000 households are on the borough's housing register.

A week later, on Wednesday 25 February, Full Council approved a budget that the council said included a £45m allocation for temporary housing, following a 44% rise in temporary housing rent costs.

The national picture

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show the pressure is not confined to Tower Hamlets. Across England, 135,580 households were in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2026, up 1.1% on the previous quarter and 3.6% on a year earlier. They included 177,530 children, a rise of 0.8% on the previous quarter.

London had 21.1 households in temporary accommodation for every 1,000 households, according to MHCLG, with the highest rates in Newham, Westminster and Hackney.

The council said the Marsh Wall scheme aims to reduce out-of-borough placements. According to MHCLG, 43,180 households owed a temporary accommodation duty were housed in a different local authority area on 31 March 2026, up 4.1% year on year, and London authorities made 35,460 of those placements, or 82.1% of the England total.

London Councils says temporary accommodation costs London boroughs £5m every day and that more than 100,000 children in the capital are growing up in it.

Cllr Anthony Okereke, London Councils' Executive Member for Housing and Homelessness, said everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home.

What happens next

The council said the Marsh Wall buildings would be converted into temporary accommodation for local families, with the two- and three-bedroom homes adding to capacity within the borough. No date for the first families to move in has been published.