Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused a council tax exemption on two flats and was wrong to say it had no discretion to do so. There is no fault by the Council and part of the complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction being made late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refused to grant him a council tax exemption on two flats he owns which, in January 2018, became uninhabitable. He says the Council is wrong to say it does not have discretion to grant an exemption. He says the Council obtained liability orders at court and forced him to pay two years council tax. Mr X wants the Council to apologise for its actions, refund the council tax and exempt his property until the cause of the problem at the flats is resolved and they are renovated.

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

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Mr X’s information and comments including the letters the Council sent him in May and June 2018 (complaint reply). I have not received a reply from Mr X to the draft decision statement sent to him.

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What I found

5. Mr X owns two flats in London which he rented out to tenants. He says in January 2018 the flats flooded due to a damaged sewage pipe and became uninhabitable. Mr X says Thames Water has not repaired the sewage pipe. In early 2018, Mr X asked the Council to exempt his property from council tax because it was not occupied and uninhabitable. It refused to do so and he says it has obtained liability orders at the Magistrates Court to compel him to pay.
6. In May and June 2018, the Council wrote to Mr X. It explains in 2013 the Government passed responsibility for council tax policy to councils. The change in the law abolished the old empty/uninhabitable property tax exemptions. The Council’s policy does not provide for such help and there is no discretion to grant an exemption. The Council advised Mr X that his insurance should deal with his problem. He could also ask the Valuation Office to consider removing the property from the council tax list due to it not being habitable.
7. The Local Government Finance Act 1992, section 66 (as amended by the 2012 Act), says that a council tax reduction scheme and ‘the specification of a class of “exempt dwelling”’ shall not be questioned except by an application for judicial review.
8. The Council’s website and its document, ‘2018-19 Your Council Tax Explained’, says it does not provide a discount on empty properties. This includes properties undergoing major repair or structural alteration. A 100% council tax premium is charged on properties left empty for two years or longer.

Analysis

9. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
1. There is no fault in the Council applying its council tax policy which does not provide discounts for empty properties. The Ombudsman cannot lawfully question the council tax policy which can only be done by judicial review (see paragraph 7 above).
2. There is no fault in the Council’s position that it should not do anything, given Mr X’s request for help was due essentially to his two flats not being habitable. There is no fault in its advice to Mr X that he could go to the Valuation Tribunal and seek the removal of the property from the council tax list/band which would end the liability to pay. The Valuation Office could consider Mr X’s argument and has the power to provide the solution he wants. The decisions of that office are appealable to the Valuation Tribunal.
3. The Council’s actions before 10 December 2018 are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction on the 12 month rule. Mr X complains late about matters which he knew about including the original council tax decision (see paragraph 3). I will not exercise discretion to investigate because Mr X could have complained sooner.
4. Mr X has not provided evidence suggesting that there was fault in the Council applying to court to obtain payment of the council tax. If he disagreed, he could have challenged the application for liability orders at court.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused a council tax exemption on two flats and was wrong to say it had no discretion to do so. There is no fault by the Council and part of the complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction being made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman