Flats or Houses to rent or buy in the London Borough of Havering

For specific information on this borough, or to contact individual departments please click here to visit their website.

London Borough of Havering: http://www.havering.gov.uk

In General:
The London boroughs are administrative centres responsible for collecting local taxes (Council Tax and Business Rates) and then spending the funds received on local services. They are run by Borough Councils who are elected by borough residents on a four year cycle. The totals that they spend will depend on the rates of tax that they levy plus funds allocated from central government and other sources.

While many of the services (schools, roads, planning, rubbish collection and social services) are standard, levels of provision will vary according to the overall political will as expressed by the voters.

Your tax liability (as a resident) will be based on the council tax band of your home. These bands are set by Valuation Officers and there is scope for appeal. The rate bands are then used to determine the amounts of tax levied. So, while the bands will remain largely constant the levels of tax can go up and, in theory, down.

You may claim discounts or exemptions based on your circumstances. For example, as the only adult in a property you can get a 25% reduction on your bill. Other reductions are available for qualifying second adults and Council Tax Benefit claimants.

There is more information available at the HM Customs & Excise website.

Solid, semi detached Essex in character, Havering is London's most eastern borough and arguably blessed with the most open land. Large tracts of open fields and marshland surround towns that have grown up around the development of tube and train lines into London. Romford to the west provides the borough's shopping interest, whilst Gidea Park, an original garden suburb, boasts pleasant Edwardian semis and family homes. To the east lie the post war council estates of Harold Hill and to the south, Upminster and Hornchurch, two Essex towns now engulfed by London's urban sprawl. Furthest south amongst the semi-industrial marshland of the Thames is Rainham.