Council tax has shot up across London with 14 boroughs increasing bills by the maximum of almost five per cent.
Seventeen out of 33 authorities took advantage of the Government’s adult social care precept which allows them to hike council tax by three per cent – an average of £46 a year - to fund services.
A further 11 used the precept to increase bills by the slightly lower two per cent. But, on top of that, 25 councils added an extra 1-2 per cent to the core council tax used to pay for other services.
Just four councils chose to freeze council tax altogether. They are Hillingdon, Newham and the City of London. One, Kensington & Chelsea, is raising council tax without the additional adult social care precept.
The Asian boroughs increasing council tax by the full 4.99 per cent are Croydon, Enfield, Harrow and Redbridge. This means that Enfield residents, for example, face paying an extra £61.08 per year for a Band D property.
It is increasing by the slightly lower margin of 3.99 per cent in Brent, and Hounslow.
Barnet increased it’s bills by three per cent, while Ealing residents are facing just a two per cent hike - meaning a £25 increase.
The four London authorities who froze council tax make up 17 per cent of the 23 councils nationally who are not increasing their charges this year.
One of those, Newham Council, has staved off the effects of "savage cuts from Whitehall" by launching a small business initiative which "transforms existing (council) services and turns them into commercial enterprises".
