Due to the probable increase, lettings platform, Mashroom, wanted to look at the cheapest and most expensive areas in the UK for Council Tax
The data shows that the cheapest areas for Band A Council Tax in the UK per year are:
East Devon in the South West at £101.19
Westminster in London at £551.71
Wandsworth in London at £559.41
City of London in the South East at £699.62
Hammersmith and Fulham in the South East at £797.08
Despite Westminster being well known as an incredibly sought-after area to live for the wealthy and containing some of the most expensive properties in the world, it has the second cheapest Council Tax in the UK.
A reason for this is that large quantities of revenue in these areas comes from other sources, such as business rates.
Another reason is parking which dictates council tax rates in rich London boroughs such as Westminster. On-street parking charges in Westminster range from £1.70 to £4.90 per hour.
Finally, the expenses of the Council play an important role in Council Tax levels. Westminster has fewer social care expenses than other areas as there are fewer older people and families.
The data also shows that the most expensive areas for Band A Council Tax in the UK per year are:
Blaby in central Leicestershire at £1,821.29
Nottingham in the East Midlands at £1,484.84
Bristol in the South West at £1,442.43
North Dorset in the South West at £1,439.46
West Dorset in the South West at £1,439.46
The Council Tax would increase by £36.76 a year for a Band A property in Wolverhampton.
Additionally, in Hackney, there would be an increase of £44.86 a year in Council Tax for a band B property.
In Wigan, where research by Loughborough University shows that levels of child poverty increased from 17,541 (29.1 per cent) in 2014/15 to 18,780 (30.8 per cent) in 2018/19 there will be an increase of £54.04 in Council Tax a year for a Band C property.
Even though the increase in Council Tax is speculation at the moment it does seem extremely likely to become a reality and the data by Mashroom shows that the people that will be affected most by this are those on lower incomes.
Stepan Dobrovolskiy, Mashroom’s CEO, said: “It’s interesting to explore the cheapest and most expensive areas for Council Tax. It was also eye-opening to look at the future of potential Council Tax increases in the UK and how this could affect people.
“We are shocked to discover that London has amongst the cheapest areas for Council Tax and that Westminster, which is one of the most wealthy neighbourhoods in London and contains some of the most expensive properties in the world has the second cheapest Council Tax in the UK!
“We hope that this information will be helpful for both Landlords and Tenants”.
