Anyone else in the South East worried about Andy Burnham bringing in a land tax?

[Beachbooks]

With it looking likely that Andy Burnhan will be the next PM, I was interested to see if anyone else in London / the south east were worried about potential tax raises specifically around the land tax rather than stamp duty ?

A lot of my friends who live locally are worrying that he will make the land tax for the South East so high in proportion to other areas of the UK that it will be financially very difficult to afford but then also extremely difficult to sell!!

BTW we have very standard house and garden but we live in an expensive area

Your house has gone up four times in value and you are in band D. You didn’t pay much stamp duty. DH and I have paid £70k.

Are you blimmin serious!? I pay almost 4k and it's not a mansion by any means.

London keeps the country afloat.

OP I live in the south east, south east of London. I live in a very cheap housing area.

When did I say our house is Band D? The chart of London council tax uses Band D so I used the same band for comparison. I so wish we were Band D.

If your house was £1.425 million - which it would if you paid £70k stamp duty - your income must be much healthier than mine.

I said moving up the ladder, not for a single purchase. That’s what people do nowadays. My house is not worth anything like £1.4 million.

Moving up the ladder is what people have always done.

No, not everyone. My PIL didn’t. They bought a 3 bed semi on one average salary and have lived in it for over 50 years. They paid zero stamp duty. Same for my parents although they did downsize to a small flat when my mum became seriously ill and they paid a very small amount of stamp duty on that. My PIL’s house is worth about £500k. There are very few first time buyers that can afford that now, even with two incomes.

London Borough of Havering Band D: £2,424.66

So no, it’s not lower across the whole of London.

Not according to this.

https://taxbandcheck.co.uk/regions/london

You might want to go onto the individual borough council tax pages and check the information. I have checked two and they are both much higher than this list.

It’s wrong. I have checked the actual borough council tax page. Likewise for Redbridge.

So the question is Blossomtoes, are you being manipulated or are you one of the manipulators?

Neither.

Yes, these rates are wrong. I live in one of London boroughs and I pay more.

Islington Council Tax Bands & Rates 2026/2027

Band D for 2025/26 is £2,012; 2026/27 - £2,108

@BIossomtoes link, which apparently was update in Mar 26, shows 1660. So difference of 27%. Where PP's numbers are coming from?

I live in SE and think it's probably fair to tax people with more land more. It's bonkers that someone with a tennis court, woodland, lake etc. pays the same top bracket.

However a consequence may be another factor driving house price growth in the north. So whole country will be complaining about the relative low wages (which is the main issue) and demanding innovation and job creation.

@Boohoo76 and pp
have you both calculated your potential LVT

will they rise.?
I’m assuming boohoo given your stamp cost yours will.
Do you think people with similar properties will struggle and need to sell ?

Just wondering how widespread the problem will be
Everyone I know will see an increase … properties in Kent, Hamps and Watford. All detached or semis.

So why were you posting crap and insisting that council tax for the whole of London is lower?

I posted a chart dated March 2026. On reflection that might have been the figures for 2025/26 which would explain the disparity. And even with Havering’s updated figure, it’s still less than a Band D where I live.

there is no way to know. The number circulating is 0.48% of property value, but it's not a value of land, means not LVT.
0.48% on property value would be horrific for London and SE and I don't think local Labour MP will allow this to happen, remember Rachel's mansion tax?

In any case this would take more than two years to implement, so I don't think they will go for it and hit London voters before next GE.

Yes, we would. The stamp cost wasn’t all in one transaction but we would be looking at a potential 25% increase. Four bed new build detached. No land, no tennis court, no swimming pool!

no, this doesn't explain disparity. March 26 would have 2026/27 figures, but even for 2025/26 numbers don't match, please see my post with Islington link.

Do you live in Buckinghamshire? Band D there in 2026/27 is between 2418 and 2650, so yes, slightly higher than in some London boroughs, but not dramatically so. And that area is not subject to congestion charge zone, so presumably your car ownership is much easier.
You also need to take into account that council tax was designed to be based on property price relative to the area, not the entire country. Band D in London is usually tiny shitty flat. I'm happy to be corrected but Band D in shires can be 3bed+ detached.

E.g.
Band C
Hare Close, Buckingham MK18, 3 bed link detached house for sale, £325,000 - Zoopla

Band C
Wakeham Street, London N1, 1 bed flat for sale, £400,000 - Zoopla

They are not 25-26 figures. I have checked. The list is a load of rubbish.

So Havering is slightly less than your area and similar to Leeds. That’s no justification for significantly increasing property taxes across the whole of London and the SE (and other expensive parts of the country).

How have you checked?

Some boroughs list the rates for the previous year. For example, Enfield.

I don’t know your reason for posting that list or believing that it is true. But it’s pretty easy to fact check.