Polanski apologises over houseboat council tax

The Green Party has admitted that its leader Zack Polanski has, until recently, been living on a houseboat in London and may have failed to pay council tax.

In a statement given to the BBC, a party spokesperson said Polanski had "taken steps to pay any council tax he may be found to owe".

They added: "Zack apologises sincerely for the unintentional mistake."

Polanski has been under pressure to explain whether the houseboat, moored at a marina in Hackney, had been his primary residence.

A boat is liable for council tax when used as a person's "sole or main residence", according to the tax lawyer Dan Neidle.

Neidle, who has investigated the tax affairs of several politicians, looked into Polanski's situation and wrote on his Tax Policy Associates website this week: "If, as seems likely, that was his main residence, then Mr Polanski and his partner should have paid council tax there."

The Times newspaper last week questioned whether Polanski had paid council tax for the boat for the past three years.

It reported that it had seen an advertisement to sell the boat in which Polanski's partner had said: "We are moving house and so will sadly be leaving the gorgeous community behind."

The paper said that the Green Party had told it Polanski lived in a room that he rented at a different address in London and council tax was included in his rent there. The party told the paper that he only stayed on the boat "occasionally".

However the Times reported that the Green Party leader and his partner "appear in recent years to have stayed on a narrowboat at a marina", adding a local laundrette said it had often done laundry for Polanski and his partner from 2023 to 2025.

Polanski, along with several other individuals also thought to have boats in the marina, used a nearby building as a postal address. The Mail also reported that he had been registered to vote there.

When the BBC asked the Green Party for clarification about Polanski's residence and whether he had paid the relevant council tax, a party spokesperson gave us a statement saying: "Until relatively recently, Zack was living on a houseboat, which came with its own unique practical circumstances and considerations."

It continued: "He has immediately taken steps to pay any council tax he may be found to owe. For security reasons, we do not comment publicly on Zack's address."