Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss A’s complaint about the empty property premium the Council has applied. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Miss A wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss A, complained about the empty property premium the Council has applied to the house her late mother had occupied. She says the Council wants her to pay £1000 council tax a year but she has not yet been able to sell the house.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information Miss A provided, her complaints to the Council and the Council’s responses. I have given Miss A an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

Back to top

What I found

4. Miss A told us her mother passed away nearly three years ago. She says the probate process took a long time and the property remained empty throughout. In 2019 the Council applied the full empty property premium charge after the end of the exemption period. Miss A told us the value of the property is low, it is not selling, she is paying her own council tax and no council services are being used.
5. To put things right Miss A wants to pay either no council tax for the property or a reduced amount.
6. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 allowed councils to apply an empty property premium council tax charge to properties which have been empty and substantially unfurnished for more than two years. From April 2015 the Council introduced an empty property premium, an additional 50% charge, for properties which have been empty for more than two years.
7. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. But it has no powers to question council decisions to apply an empty property premium. The Local Government Finance Act 1972 says such a decision can only be challenged by way of judicial review.
8. We cannot achieve the outcome Miss A wants if we investigated her complaint. That is because the Council has acted within the legal powers it has available. Its decision to introduce the empty property premium can only be challenged by judicial review through the courts.
9. The Council has suggested to Miss A that she could consider providing a solicitor’s undertaking. This would undertake to pay the outstanding council tax from the proceeds of the sale of the property.

Back to top

Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Miss A wants.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman