Tower Hamlets Council has extended its concierge service for residents in five housing blocks following strong support from residents. The service impacts approximately 346 homes across Brewster House, Malting House, Pauline House, Latham House, and Brodrick House.

The Mayor's Executive Decision Making meeting on 15 September 2025 addressed the extension of the concierge service provided by OCS LTD. to these five blocks. The council approved a nine-month extension to the contract, lasting until March 2026, at a cost of £404,764.35.

These services are considered important for preventing anti-social behaviour and ensuring residents feel secure. OCS LTD. concierges perform several duties, including screening visitors, monitoring CCTV, patrolling communal areas with a focus on fire safety, spot cleaning, reporting repairs during evenings and weekends, and providing assistance to residents and emergency services in emergency situations. According to the meeting's report, these services are important in preventing anti-social behaviour and ensuring residents feel secure within their blocks.

The decision follows a resident consultation conducted in December 2024 and January 2025, which showed overwhelming support for maintaining the service. According to the meeting's report, available in the Public Reports Pack, 46% of households (188 in total) participated in the survey, with 88% supporting the continuation of the concierge service, even with proposed annual fee increases linked to changes in the London Living Wage. The cost of delivering the service for the 2025/26 financial year is £19.35 per hour (totalling £912,223.20), reflecting a 6% increase from the 2024/25 rate of £18.28 per hour. This rise corresponds with the uplift in the London Living Wage paid to concierge staff.

The report outlined that a small minority of residents preferred alternative options:

9% voted to discontinue the service, 2% suggested reducing hours, and 1% proposed exploring other security measures like enhanced CCTV, improved intercoms, fob-based access control systems for doors and lifts, or airlock door systems.

The council had considered expanding the service to other blocks, including Bentworth Court, but this was deemed too costly due to multiple access points and a lack of suitable facilities.

The extension of the concierge service will be funded by the Housing Revenue Account and partially recharged to residents. The decision to extend the service aims to prevent any negative impact on the council's reputation and to maintain security and reduce anti-social behaviour in the affected blocks. A failure to extend the service could also breach the Regulator for Social Housing's Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, which requires registered providers to consider tenants' views in decision-making about landlord services.