The council meets at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford and has its main offices nearby at Lynton House.

[4] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities, being the municipal borough councils of Ilford, Wanstead and Woodford, and Dagenham (the latter in respect of the Hog Hill area only, the rest of that borough went to the London Borough of Barking) and the urban district council of Chigwell in respect of parts of the Hainault area.

The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Redbridge) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection.

It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

[18] The council's main offices are at a nearby tower block called Lynton House at 255–259 High Road in Ilford, which was built in 1969.