Council Tax Bands

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Council tax bands in Reading

77,920 homesSouth East

Reading has the seventh-largest share of homes in band C (40.7%) of the 296 councils in England. Among the 64 councils in the South East, it has the third-smallest share of bungalows (2.2%).

One street of 100 homes: colour shows the band, shape the typeA9B19C41D16E8F4G3FlatTerracedSemiDetachedBungalowColour shows the band, shape the typeA9B19C41D16E8F4G3FlatTerracedSemiDetachedBungalow

The homes cluster in the middle bands

The homes in Reading gather in the middle of the ladder: bands C to E hold 64.4%, with band C the largest single band. The share in bands A and B, 28.7%, is 14.4 points below the figure for England as a whole. Across the South East it is 25.3%. Ranked by number of homes, the bands run C, B, D, A, E, F, G and H. Within the South East, the band mix closest to this one is that of Rushmoor. Band H, the top band, holds 100 homes.

Share of homes in each bandA9.3%B19.4%C40.7%D16.0%E7.7%F4.4%G2.5%H0.1%ReadingSouth EastEngland

Flats and maisonettes are the largest group

The largest group of homes in Reading is flats and maisonettes at 38.5%, followed in turn by terraced houses (30.4%), semi-detached houses (18.9%), detached houses (8.4%) and bungalows. The widest gap to the rest of the South East is in flats and maisonettes: 14.9 points above the share there (23.6%). The typical home of each type sits in band F for detached houses, band D for bungalows, band D for semi-detached houses, band C for terraced houses and band B for flats and maisonettes. The nearest property-type mix elsewhere belongs to Cambridge, followed by Sutton and Slough.

Share of all homes; each type split by bandFlats and maisonettes38.5%ABCDTerraced houses30.4%BCDSemi-detached houses18.9%CDEDetached houses8.4%DEFGBungalows2.2%BCDEF

Three bedrooms is the usual size

Three-bedroom homes (39.3%) are the most common size, then two-bedroom (28.8%) and one-bedroom (20.5%). Band climbs with size: the middle home is in band B with one bedroom, band C with two, band C with three, band E with four and band F with five. Homes here average 2.45 bedrooms, fewer than the 2.66 for England. Homes with four or more bedrooms make up 11.4%. A detached house here has 3.7 bedrooms on average, a flat 1.6.

Homes by bedrooms, where recorded1 bedroom20.5%2 bedrooms28.8%3 bedrooms39.3%4 bedrooms8.6%5 bedrooms1.8%6+ bedrooms1.0%

Homes from before 1900 lead

Share of homes by build period; red line: England17%Before19007%1900–191813%1919–193914%1945–196416%1965–198210%1983–199913%2000–201510%2016–2026Share of homes by build period; red line: England17%<19007%190013%191914%194516%196510%198313%200010%2016

The biggest building periods here were before 1900 (17.3%), from 1965 to 1982 (15.5%) and from 1945 to 1964 (14.3%). Some 7,450 homes were built from 2016 to 2026. The middle home built from 2016 to 2026 is in band C, the same as the middle home built before 2016. Bands A and B take 26.0% of these newer homes and 28.5% of the older ones. Over the year to March 2026 the list grew by a net 590 homes (+0.76%). Homes from the three largest building periods share the same middle band, band C. The busiest single year was 2024, with 1,010 homes recorded as built.

Bands of homes built 2016 to 2026, and beforeBuilt 2016 to 2026ABCDEBuilt before 2016ABCDE

Councils with a similar band mix

By band-mix distance (0 means identical), the councils closest to Reading are Thurrock (8.6), Adur (12.3) and Greenwich (17.3); the furthest within the South East is Elmbridge (103.5).

Compare side by side

Placed in the South East

On the share of homes in band F or above, Reading comes 48th of the 64 councils in the South East, just behind Gravesham and just ahead of the Isle of Wight. All South East councils.

Share of homes in band F or aboveReading 7%2%40%