Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s decision to hold him liable for council tax. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because if Mr B disagreed with the Council’s decision it was reasonable for him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr B says the Council wrongly assessed his liability for council tax which led to legal penalties and a charging order applied to his property. Mr B says the penalties against his property will affect his ability to rent or access finance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decision on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mr B’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the Council’s response to his complaint. I also gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.

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What I found

5. Mr B says he received a letter from the Council in October 2019 informing him of a council tax debt and its intention to secure the debt against his property by way of a charging order. This was because of historic council tax charges that had not been paid. Mr B says the Council have now secured the debt against his property by way of a charging order.
6. The Council says that after checking the information available the council tax liabilities have been assessed correctly. The Council says that if Mr B wanted to challenge his liability for council tax, he could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
7. When someone has a right of appeal to a tribunal, the Ombudsman normally expects them to use that right, unless it is unreasonable for them to do so. Any dispute about council tax liability or entitlement to council tax support can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The Tribunal is an independent expert body. I see no reason why Mr B could not have appealed to the Tribunal.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because if Mr B disagreed with the Council’s decision it was reasonable for him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman