> "Is council tax basically property tax?"

Yes, it's basically a residential property tax as it's based (very loosely) on property value and is payed per-property, not per-resident. But it falls on the resident, not the property owner.

Called council tax because it funds council services like street maintenance and rubbish collection.

I don't think there is a property tax in the UK - not as a yearly recurring payment that (some of?) the US has. There's Stamp Duty though, which is paid when you buy a property

council tax is payed by the resident (even if renting), not the owner.