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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think an annual property tax is incredibly unfair?

966 replies

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 10:06

I come from an area with low house prices. It is great! My friends can generally afford houses even with lower salaries as the earnings:house prices ratio is better. Rents are also lower so they have proportionately more disposable income.

I have moved to a more expensive area where house prices are higher and people have really had to push themselves to buy a property. Salaries are higher but not high enough to make up the difference. They have had to pay more stamp duty , pay more interest and have less disposable income each month.

I am really struggling to understand why my friends in the South should also automatically be paying more property tax under the new proposals being suggested by Burnham supporters? What is the justification? They would love to buy a large detached house for £300k like my friends from home but this isn't possible. It feels like they are being double penalised.

Just to add house prices haven't risen in real terms in the area in live in now for 20 years so the value of my friend's houses is simply money they have paid in.

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NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 22:15

Portakalkedi · 01/07/2026 22:13

I haven't read much about this, but it should surely be in proportion to each area's amenities, transport etc. I live in a village with no pavements, hardly any streetlights, no public transport, poor roads etc and it pisses me off that I pay the same as those in towns where more money is spent on these things. Why should it be the same as those living in a town or city with leisure centres, libraries, good transport etc. I also think such taxes should be based on the number of people living in a house, but not sure how that could ever be successfully policed. Again, not fair that a single person pays as much as a family.

Market value likely.

NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 22:15

hahabahbag · 01/07/2026 22:10

At .48% my £450k value house would be £1000 cheaper a year. Council tax here went up 10% (special permission) because council is bankrupt from special school transport and elder care apparently. More expensive when rural

Another argument for devolution 😳

DB's is £500 higher. Still the same quirks it seems.

Portakalkedi · 01/07/2026 22:13

I haven't read much about this, but it should surely be in proportion to each area's amenities, transport etc. I live in a village with no pavements, hardly any streetlights, no public transport, poor roads etc and it pisses me off that I pay the same as those in towns where more money is spent on these things. Why should it be the same as those living in a town or city with leisure centres, libraries, good transport etc. I also think such taxes should be based on the number of people living in a house, but not sure how that could ever be successfully policed. Again, not fair that a single person pays as much as a family.

NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 22:13

EasternStandard · 01/07/2026 21:51

And in many cases the disposable income won’t be there for the cash grab.

Debt and fire sales.

hahabahbag · 01/07/2026 22:10

At .48% my £450k value house would be £1000 cheaper a year. Council tax here went up 10% (special permission) because council is bankrupt from special school transport and elder care apparently. More expensive when rural

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 22:09

Thepeachboys · 01/07/2026 22:08

Who is subsidising housing associations rents?

Type 'is social housing subsidised by the government' into Google and it will give you a handy AI guide about all the ways SH is subsidised.

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Thepeachboys · 01/07/2026 22:08

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 22:02

We can go through this a million times over but it is widely acknowledged that it is indeed subsidised.

Who is subsidising housing associations rents?

Thepeachboys · 01/07/2026 22:07

It’s undecided but could be land value
In the main anyone living in A-D council bands would find themselves paying the same or less, whereas E -H would find themselves paying more

NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 22:06

It seems like most of London already pays less than I do. I'd like to see a more balanced system, not one that simply shifts the unfairness from one group to another.

QforCucumber · 01/07/2026 22:05

Pacificwave · 01/07/2026 22:02

Are you sure? I live in London, in a much less fashionable area in a semi. I pay £3,800 per year.

The bandings are freely available to see on their website

RoseOliviaAu · 01/07/2026 22:04

Pacificwave · 01/07/2026 22:02

Are you sure? I live in London, in a much less fashionable area in a semi. I pay £3,800 per year.

Kensington has a famously low council tax because it has low demand for council services and massive revenue brought in from other sources.

People seem to think all of London benefits from this when it doesn’t.

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 22:02

BIossomtoes · 01/07/2026 21:51

Social housing/council rents aren’t subsidised.

We can go through this a million times over but it is widely acknowledged that it is indeed subsidised.

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Pacificwave · 01/07/2026 22:02

QforCucumber · 01/07/2026 21:53

I live in a 4 bed detached house in a small cheap town in the NE, our council tax is £2,750 a year. The same banding property in Kensington and Chelsea council is £1,403 a year.

What exactly makes the current system fair?

Are you sure? I live in London, in a much less fashionable area in a semi. I pay £3,800 per year.

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 22:01

QforCucumber · 01/07/2026 21:53

I live in a 4 bed detached house in a small cheap town in the NE, our council tax is £2,750 a year. The same banding property in Kensington and Chelsea council is £1,403 a year.

What exactly makes the current system fair?

Because your money is going directly to pay for local services in your area. You and your community are direct beneficiaries of your tax. The same is true for people that live in Kensington and Chelsea.

I imagine the people of Kensington and Chelsea already pay a hell of a lot of money towards national taxes and a lot of this money will be pumped into areas like yours . Local taxes shouldn't work like this though.

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Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 21:58

WutheringTights · 01/07/2026 21:44

But Londoners typically pay less council tax than people in the north, due to receipts for business rates and commercial property. Is that fair given their typically higher salaries?
https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/council-tax-burden-highest-lowest-uk

Manchester City also has low Council Tax rates as does Birmingham City. They get more business rates, more money from parking but also have huge efficiencies due to the fact that they are areas of high density living. It costs less to provide local services when everyone lives close together.

I think it's fair that local services should be funded by local people. So if an area can fund the services they need with low taxation then what's wrong with that? Isn't this what Andy Burnham's devolution looks like?

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QforCucumber · 01/07/2026 21:53

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 10:33

What exactly makes it fairer though?

I live in a 4 bed detached house in a small cheap town in the NE, our council tax is £2,750 a year. The same banding property in Kensington and Chelsea council is £1,403 a year.

What exactly makes the current system fair?

EasternStandard · 01/07/2026 21:51

NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 21:46

We could go backwards and forwards all day by choosing different metrics. Some will favour the single pensioner, while others will favour the four adults living in one house. One metric in isolation isn't going to get us very far.

The long and short of it is that taxing a home based on an unrealised paper value is a thinly veiled cash grab.

And in many cases the disposable income won’t be there for the cash grab.

poetryandwine · 01/07/2026 21:51

palran · 01/07/2026 21:27

Yes, that was one of my theories above! I think renters will pay anyway via increased rents. I wonder will SH tenants' rent increase if the council/HA is the landlord for example?

I agree that LVT will be passed on to tenants by private landlords. I also wonder what will happen for SH.

BIossomtoes · 01/07/2026 21:51

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 21:03

The more I think about it, the more I think social housing will break the policy. Even if most people save money under the new rules, very few will stomach the fact that those in SH who already pay subsidised rents will not pay the tax and won't get it passed on to them through their landlord. This will create a whole new level of inequality and cause outrage, especially because SH isn't means tested. How many articles will we need about the people earning £100k plus living in council houses and paying no tax whilst a poor widow on the same street is being made homeless by the tax? Not many before outrage reaches epic levels and the policy is withdrawn.

Social housing/council rents aren’t subsidised.

poetryandwine · 01/07/2026 21:48

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 21:03

The more I think about it, the more I think social housing will break the policy. Even if most people save money under the new rules, very few will stomach the fact that those in SH who already pay subsidised rents will not pay the tax and won't get it passed on to them through their landlord. This will create a whole new level of inequality and cause outrage, especially because SH isn't means tested. How many articles will we need about the people earning £100k plus living in council houses and paying no tax whilst a poor widow on the same street is being made homeless by the tax? Not many before outrage reaches epic levels and the policy is withdrawn.

We have no idea what will happen to people in social housing. There could be some kind of new fee similar to how renters in the private sector will absorb LVT (presumably with protections for those on low incomes).

Again, we can only wait and see

NorthXNorthWest · 01/07/2026 21:46

LipglossAndLies · 01/07/2026 21:21

That single pensioner will have paid more in CT per person than the 4 working adults living the same house who will one stage need care themselves at a huge cost whilst paying in far less than a single person.

We could go backwards and forwards all day by choosing different metrics. Some will favour the single pensioner, while others will favour the four adults living in one house. One metric in isolation isn't going to get us very far.

The long and short of it is that taxing a home based on an unrealised paper value is a thinly veiled cash grab.

WutheringTights · 01/07/2026 21:44

Itchthescratch · 01/07/2026 10:26

London has one of the worst earnings:house prices ratios. It's literally double the North East so no, Londoners aren't being paid enough to absorb this new tax on top of cripplingly expensive house prices.

But Londoners typically pay less council tax than people in the north, due to receipts for business rates and commercial property. Is that fair given their typically higher salaries?
https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/council-tax-burden-highest-lowest-uk

Man looks at council tax demand letter and scratches his head.

The UK areas with the highest and lowest council tax burden

London residents are less impacted by council tax compared to other parts of the UK, new data shows

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/council-tax-burden-highest-lowest-uk

suburburban · 01/07/2026 21:41

LipglossAndLies · 01/07/2026 21:25

Probably because renters aren't owners of any land. You can't tax someone who doesnt own any land.

however they can pay for services like everyone else has to

palran · 01/07/2026 21:27

LipglossAndLies · 01/07/2026 21:25

Probably because renters aren't owners of any land. You can't tax someone who doesnt own any land.

Yes, that was one of my theories above! I think renters will pay anyway via increased rents. I wonder will SH tenants' rent increase if the council/HA is the landlord for example?

LipglossAndLies · 01/07/2026 21:25

palran · 01/07/2026 21:24

Does anyone know the rationale for excluding renters from the LVT? It may be administrative or legal, i.e. owners can be traced via Land Registry, but tenants can be transient. However I think there is an obligation on landlords to inform the council when a person either leaves or takes up a new tenancy (not sure which) for the council tax, but since an apartment/flat/house renter does not own the underlying land, that may be the reason they are not liable for LVT.

I wish they would tell us why renters are excluded. I want to know the reason!

Probably because renters aren't owners of any land. You can't tax someone who doesnt own any land.