Londoners are set to see their bills rocket again in the 2025/26 council tax rates.
Average demands are set to hit almost £2,500 a year, The Standard has established.
Throughout February, many of the capital’s 33 boroughs have been revealing how much their bills will rise from April, but not all have been published yet.
The bleak picture so far has shown that for most, bills will be hiked – with some boroughs hit harder than others.
Most London councils are expected to seek a near five per cent increase compared with last year, according to draft budget planning documents.
Other councils that have indicated such plans include Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon and Ealing, among others.
But some are not being hit as hard, with Tory-run Kensington and Chelsea council only seeking a four per cent rise in its share of bills – and will also offer 15,000 low-income residents a one-off £50 payment to help with cost-of-living pressures.
Here is a round-up of who will pay what.
Which London borough is set to have the highest rate of council tax?
Kingston, which is run by the Lib Dems, will retain the dubious honour of being London’s most expensive borough as it is increasing its total band D bill from £2,374 to £2,488.
This 4.99 per cent hike includes a £95.01 increase in the council’s share of bills and an an extra £18.98 for Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan.
Croydon – in second place last year with a bill of £2,366.61 – will again remain in second place if it ratifies plans to add a total of £113 to its band D bills, taking them to £2,480, as first reported by the Inside Croydon website.
Croydon, which has been in financial crisis since 2020, is also seeking more emergency funding from the Government, this time for £136m for 2025/26.
It has debts of £1.8bn, meaning more than a fifth of its budget will soon be taken up repaying the interest on its debts.
Most London councils are expected to seek a near five per cent increase, according to draft budget-planning documents.
Councils that have indicated such plans include Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Greenwich, Havering, Hounslow, Islington, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Westminster.
Which London borough is set the lowest rate of council tax?
Westminster, under Labour control since 2022, is seeing a price hike and will break the four-figure barrier for the first time but will remain one of the cheapest local authorities in the country, with a total band D demand of £1,017.
Our coverage will be updated over the coming weeks, as boroughs set their final amounts at full council meetings.
