Council tax is money that the council uses to pay for the services it provides on behalf of the residents of Hounslow. It is vitally important to ensure that council tax is collected quickly and efficiently.
Where people cannot afford to pay their council tax, they will be given information on how they can get Council Tax Benefit. In order to ensure the council continues to provide local services for local people, it must pursue outstanding arrears.
Council Tax is payable on most domestic dwellings and is charged by the London Borough of Hounslow and helps to pay for the Authority’s services. We collect Council Tax for over 87,000 domestic properties throughout the borough. Council tax increases are affected by those people who refuse to pay their council tax. For more information on how to pay council tax please visit council tax payment
Part of your Council Tax is for services provided by the GLA (Greater London Authority). For more information please visit www.london.gov.uk
History of Council Tax
Up until 1990, both domestic and non-domestic properties were charged under General Rates, where all properties paid according to their rateable value regardless of number of occupants etc.
In 1990, a new personal charge was introduced for domestic properties known as Community Charge or Poll Tax, this was paid by every adult in the property aged 18 or over. Non-domestic properties were charged under National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR).
In 1992 the Local Government Finance Act (LGFA) was introduced and, with effect from 1st April 1993, Council Tax commenced.