Thousands more Londoners will face average council tax bills of over £2,000 for the first time next year, analysis by the Standard has revealed.
Our interactive map below shows most benchmark Band D London homes will see almost £80 added to their annual levy from April 2026 if boroughs increase payments by an expected 5%.
It means Hackney, Hillingdon and Lambeth residents face paying more than £2,000 for the first time.
This is before the City Hall precept is added by the Mayor of London. Last year Sir Sadiq Khan increased his portion of the council tax by £18.98 for Band D billpayers, taking the mayor’s share from £471.40 to £490.38.
Sir Sadiq is expected to confirm how much his precept, which helps pay for the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade, will rise early in the new year.
The majority of local authorities in London are currently consulting on raising council tax bills by 2.99% to pay for services, plus another 2% for adult social care. This is the maximum allowed without a referendum.
Five councils in the capital - Wandsworth, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London and Kensington and Chelsea- were last week given authority to increase bills by more than 5% in 2027/28 and 2028/29 without having to hold a referendum after having their funding from central Government slashed.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) predicted eye-watering 75% increases in council tax could be seen in these areas.
In its analysis, the think tank said: “The [Government] funding figures assume some very large increases in council tax bills indeed for these councils – around 75% in the case of Wandsworth and Westminster.”
But Wandsworth, which currently sets the lowest council tax in the country at £990.07 for Band D homes, has already vowed not to use the powers.
London Councils has warned the city’s town halls are collectively “grappling with a £1 billion budget shortfall” this year alone.
A record seven London boroughs applied for hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds of emergency cash from the Government in 2025 as boroughs struggle to stay afloat amid skyrocketing social care and temporary housing costs.
Borough |
Current Council Tax 2025/26 (Band D) |
Predicted Increase (not including City Hall precept) |
Barking and Dagenham |
£2,098.14 |
£80.30 |
Barnet |
£2,035.52 | £77.25 |
Bexley |
£2,258.03 |
£88.38 |
Brent |
£2,133.15 |
£82.13 |
Bromley |
£2042.46 |
£77.60 |
Camden |
£2,106.36 |
£80.79 |
Croydon |
£2,480.48 |
£99.50 |
Ealing |
£2,041.02 |
£77.53 |
Enfield |
£2,164.02 |
£83.68 |
Greenwich |
£2,011.64 |
£76 |
Hackney |
£1,966.51 |
£73.80 |
Hammersmith & Fulham |
£1451.42 |
£48 |
Haringey |
£2,207.94 |
£85.87 |
Harrow |
£2,395.86 |
£95.27 |
Havering |
£2,313.55 |
£91.15 |
Hillingdon |
£1,952.38 |
£73.10 |
Hounslow |
£2,085.82 |
£79.77 |
Islington |
£2,011.82 |
£76 |
Kensington & Chelsea |
£1,569.46 |
£53.95 |
Kingston Upon Thames |
£2,488.35 |
£99.89 |
Lambeth |
£1,953.95 |
£73.17 |
Lewisham |
£2,135.13 |
£82.23 |
Merton |
£2,088.43 |
£79.90 |
Newham |
£1,855.96 |
£68.27 |
Redbridge |
£2189.67 |
£84.96 |
Richmond Upon Thames |
£2,372.07 |
£94 |
Southwark |
£1,877.90 |
£69.37 |
Sutton |
£2,269.72 |
£88.96 |
Tower Hamlets |
£1,754.57 |
£63.20 |
Waltham Forest |
£2,277.65 |
£89.36 |
Wandsworth |
£990.07 |
£24.98 |
Westminster |
£1,017.18 |
£26.34 |
