The Council Tax system isn’t fit for purpose.1 People living in multimillion pound houses are winners. They pay tiny amounts of council tax as a percentage of the value of their property.2
Anomalies for expensive houses
A four-bedroom house in Gidea Park is for sale at £975,000.3 It’s band G. In Upminster another four-bedroom house is available for £1.25m4 council band F, which is £515p.a. less. Meanwhile in Emerson Park a five-bedroom house is available for £2m,5 council tax band G. This is twice as expensive as the Gidea Park house and in the same council tax band.
Anomalies for cheap houses
A two-bedroom flat in Rainham is available for £134,0006 council tax band C. In Romford a retirement property is on sale for £90,0007 also band C. The Romford property is one-third cheaper despite being in the same council tax band.
And it goes on and on and on.
The ultimate anomaly
Converting council tax into percentages reveals why it’s a racket.
A five-bedroom house in Emerson Park is available for £2m8 at council tax band H. Its council tax is £4,627. At the other end of the scale is a Park Home9 in band A paying £1,542.
The first property pays 0.23% of the value of the house. The second pays 1.71%, a massive percentage difference. If council tax was based on the property valuation as a percentage, the Emerson Park property would pay £34,200 instead of £4,625. This equalises the amounts paid.
Council tax isn’t a property tax. It is a thinly disguised crime against the poor.
Notes
1 Council Tax bands and bills | London Borough of Havering
2 For research purposes I surveyed houses for sale until mid-August 2025 on Rightmove and Zoopla. These are headline prices and might increase or decrease but that doesn’t alter the thrust of the discussion.
3 4 bedroom detached house for sale in Main Road, Gidea Park , RM2
4 4 bedroom detached house for sale in The Chase, Upminster, RM14
5 5 bedroom detached house for sale in Woodlands Avenue, Emerson Park, RM11
6 2 bedroom apartment for sale in Blueberry Court, Rainham, RM13 8JY, RM13
7 1 bedroom retirement property for sale in Admiral Lodge, Western Road, Romford, RM1
8 5 bedroom detached house for sale in Ernest Road, Emerson Park, RM11
9 Cummings Hall Lane, Noak Hill… 1 bed park home for sale – £89,995
Politics in Havering 
Maybe council tax (property tax) should be a flat rate of.5% of the current value of the property.
Also, stamp duty could be raised to 30% or more. The market would stall for months then stabilise as chains readjust to make a sale. The government would get plenty of money and people would still move.
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Thank you for your comment.
0.5% is probably on the low side. The average house price is £451K which means a council tax of £2255. What it would capture are the houses which are under-taxed. So as an opening gambit it’s pretty good.
Stamp duty isn’t associated with local government and is therefore pointless for this discussion.
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