Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2023. It is based at Hove Town Hall.

The district of Brighton and Hove was created in 1997 as a merger of the former Borough of Brighton and Borough of Hove, both of which had been lower-tier districts with East Sussex County Council providing county-level services prior to 1997. The new district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex to also become its own non-metropolitan county, but with no county council; instead the district council performs both district and county functions, making it a unitary authority.^[4] For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Brighton and Hove remains part of the wider ceremonial county of East Sussex.^[5]

The new district was awarded borough status from its creation on 1 April 1997, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.^[6] The borough was additionally awarded city status on 31 January 2001, since when the council has been called Brighton and Hove City Council.^[7]

In December 2023 the council leader declared that the council was facing bankruptcy.^[8]

The council provides both district-level and county-level services. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, and it is responsible for town planning, housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, and is responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.^[9] There is one civil parish in the city at Rottingdean which provides an additional tier of local government for that area; the rest of the city is an unparished area.^[10]

The council inherited Brighton Town Hall (completed 1832)^[17] and the adjoining 1980s Priory House and Bartholomew House from the old Brighton Borough Council, and Hove Town Hall (completed 1974) from the old Hove Borough Council.^[18]

Council meetings are generally held at Hove Town Hall, which also houses the council's main offices.^[19] Brighton Town Hall and Bartholomew House continue to be used as a register office, customer service centre and additional offices.^[20] Priory House was closed as council offices in 2011 and subsequently converted to residential use.^[21]

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[22]

The council's museums service takes the name Royal Pavilion & Museums, and operates the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Hove Museum and Art Gallery, the Booth Museum of Natural History and Preston Manor.^[23]