W1S postcode: council tax bands, what homes pay and house prices in London
The W1S postcode district covers 898 homes across 554 live postcodes in London. The most common council tax band is Band H (26% of homes), which Westminster charges £2,099 for 2026/27.
Council tax bands in W1S
| Band | Homes | Share | Westminster 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6 | 0.7% | £700 |
| Band B | 0 | 0.0% | £816 |
| Band C | 11 | 1.2% | £933 |
| Band D | 102 | 11% | £1,050 |
| Band E | 155 | 17% | £1,283 |
| Band F | 175 | 19% | £1,516 |
| Band G | 212 | 24% | £1,749 |
| Band H | 237 | 26% | £2,099 |
Weighting every band by how many homes sit in it, the typical council tax bill in W1S is about £1,619 a year (£135 a month) at Westminster’s 2026/27 charges — Band D itself is £1,050, up 3.0% on 2025/26. Bands were set from 1 April 1991 values in England and Wales (2003 values in Wales) and only change on a revaluation or a successful challenge, so the mix below shifts slowly.
Across England and Wales 0.6% of homes are Band H, so W1S is heavier than average in that band; 0.7% of homes here are Band A or B (43% nationally) and 87% are Band E or above (20% nationally).
These are the Valuation Office Agency’s counts for the statistical areas that make up W1S, not a look-up of your address — for the exact band of one property use the VOA band search. Charges include the adult social care precept and police, fire and parish precepts where Westminster reports them in its Band D figure; single-person and other discounts come off afterwards.
House prices in W1S
Fewer than five standard sales were registered in W1S in the year to 31 July 2026, so no reliable price figure can be drawn for the district — the Westminster area page carries the local-authority averages instead.
How old the homes are
| Built | Homes | W1S | England & Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1900 | 433 | 48% | 15% |
| 1900–1939 | 82 | 9.1% | 20% |
| 1945–1972 | 93 | 10% | 26% |
| 1973–1999 | 106 | 12% | 21% |
| 2000–2008 | 28 | 3.1% | 6.3% |
| 2009 onwards | 147 | 16% | 12% |
57% of homes in W1S were built before 1939, against 35% across England and Wales. Older stock usually means lower EPC ratings and higher heating bills — relevant because privately rented homes need EPC C by 1 October 2030, and Westminster’s EPC page shows how far the local stock is from that line.
If you let a home in W1S
- Empty between tenants: the landlord is liable for council tax during a void, and Westminster sets its own empty-home discount or premium — see Westminster council tax 2026/27 and council tax in void periods as a deductible expense.
- Second homes and long-term empties: a 100% premium can apply from April 2025 — the premium tracker lists each council’s decision.
- HMOs: since 1 December 2023 a licensed HMO is banded as one dwelling in England, with the landlord liable — check licensing rules by council.
- Buying to let here: run the second-home stamp duty and buy-to-let stress test at the W1S median, then the rental income tax calculator.
Other W postcodes
W1B · W1C · W1D · W1F · W1G · W1H · W1J · W1K · W1T · W1U · W1W · W2 · W3 · W4 · W5 · W6 · all W districts
Sources
Open data this page is built from; figures are recomputed each time the site is rebuilt.
- Valuation Office Agency — Council Tax: stock of properties, 2025 — table CTSOP4.1, dwellings by band and build period at 31 March 2025, weighted from statistical areas into postcode districts
- HM Land Registry — Price Paid Data — standard sales registered to 31 July 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
- ONS — Postcode Directory, August 2026 — live postcodes, statistical areas and local authorities. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026
- Council tax charges 2026/27 — MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax levels, as used on this site’s council pages
- VOA — check your council tax band — the official per-address lookup
Asked about this postcode
Band H — 26% of the 898 homes the VOA lists in W1S. Bands A–D together cover 13% of homes here.
Band D in Westminster is £1,050 a year; Band H, the most common band in W1S, is £2,099. Weighted across every band the typical bill is about £1,619.
Westminster — 100% of live postcodes in W1S fall in that authority.
Too few sales were registered in the last twelve months to give a reliable figure; use the local-authority averages on the area page.
Use the Valuation Office Agency’s free search (linked above) — it returns the band for any address in England and Wales. If you think the band is wrong you can ask the VOA to review it; a successful challenge is backdated.