The leaders of two London boroughs struggling with the "extreme" pressure on their finances have pledged not to increase council tax beyond 5% in April.
It comes after Newham council confirmed it had requested Government permission to raise bills by 10% this year as the cost of housing homeless families pushes it to the verge of bankruptcy.
Havering, which is predicting a budget gap of around £74million mainly due to exploding social care costs, has put in an application for emergency Government funding and loans to cover its rising debts.
Without the support the borough will go bust. Leader Roy Morgon said in 2010 his town hall received £70million of Revenue Support Grant from Central Government. Today it is just under £2million.
He told the Standard: "While we could ask for council tax to be raised above the 5% ceiling we think that would not be sustainable or fair.
"Why should the tax payer have to bear the burden of central cuts? We will continue to argue and make the case for fairer funding."
Croydon, which has collapsed into bankruptcy three times between 2020 and 2022, continues to struggle with the rising cost of services and its historic £1.4billion debt burden.
Executive Mayor Jason Perry said the borough has in previous years been able to balance the books with a £38million "capitalisation direction" from Government, but this year it will not cover the budget gap.
However, he has pledged not to increase council tax above the 5% cap after residents saw a "staggering" 15% rise in 2023. An average Band D home in the borough currently pays £2,366.91 a year.
Lambeth estimates that it will be £1billion short of the money needed for its social housing over the next 30 years and is also facing rising temporary accommodation bills.
It has issued a stark warning to Chancellor Rachel Reeves over its £70million deficit it faces for providing statutory services over the next four years.
The council has also applied for "exceptional" government support, but has not yet revealed whether taxpayers will see an above average increase in their bills as part of the deal.
Newham sets the seventh lowest council tax in the capital and Lambeth the tenth cheapest, while Havering and Croydon residents pay some of the highest bills.
Newham has applied for "exceptional financial support", which will allow it to hike council tax by twice the maximum amount allowed elsewhere in the country as well as permission to sell off assets for day-to-day spending.
The town hall is blaming a £157million budget gap caused by the spiralling cost of providing temporary accommodation for homeless families.
Local authorities can usually only raise council tax every year by up to 5% without triggering a referendum. But in exceptional circumstances they can apply to central government for permission to raise the extra cash.
But councils across the capital are struggling with increasing costs for social care as well as soaring rents for temporary accommodation.
London boroughs are spending £4million every day on housing homeless people, it was revealed last year.
The collective average temporary accommodation bill for the capital's councils was £114million each month in the year to April 2024 - a dramatic jump of 68 per cent.