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We’ve known for a while that loads of London boroughs will be raising their council taxes come April. Years of public spending cuts and unprecedented inflation have left them in a sticky financial situation, struggling to house residents and, for some, sitting on the verge of bankruptcy.
Now, councils have started to announce how much tax will rise by in April. It’s expected that the majority of London boroughs will increase their council tax by around 5 percent, but some could could push it up even more. So far, the highest rise has been in the London borough of Newham, which has hiked its council tax up by almost 10 percent. It asked the government for special permission to raise it by that much so that it can avoid going bust.
Although not all have been announced yet, it’s almost certain that the boroughs of Greenwich, Hounslow and Merton and Islington will break £2,000 for average bills for the first time.
In their need to raise more cash, a number of councils are also having to change their rules around council tax reductions and exemptions. These include Sutton, where every household will soon have to pay at least 5 percent of their council tax bill, and Richmond, where it’s expected 355 households will be ‘adversely affected’ by no longer being exempt from council tax.
Some councils, including Westminster and Wandsworth (which has the cheapest council tax), have said that they will also be doubling their charges for second homes.
All boroughs are also set to see a 4 percent rise in the portion of tax that goes towards the Mayor of London, which has gone up to £18.98. The City of London has seen a 3 percent increase to £171.25.
London council tax increases we know so far
- Greenwich: 4.99 percent
- Havering: 4.99 percent
- Tower Hamlets: 4.99 percent
- Islington: 4.99 percent
- Newham: 9.99 percent
- Haringey, 4.99 percent
These are the councils yet to reveal their tax increase. We’ll update this page as they’re announced
- City of Westminster
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Wandsworth
- Lambeth
- Southwark
- Hackney
- Camden
- Brent
- Ealing
- Hounslow
- Richmond upon Thames
- Kingston upon Thames
- Merton
- Sutton
- Croydon
- Bromley
- Lewisham
- Bexley
- Barking and Dagenham
- Redbridge
- Waltham Forest
- Enfield
- Barnet
- Harrow
- Hillingdon
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