Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (19 020 104)

Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 25 Nov 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: There was no fault by the Council. The Council changed the billing for Council Tax once it was informed of the full details of the new tenants. Phone calls made to the Council before this date did not include the tenant’s names so the account could not be changed. The landlord of the property says he had to pay the Council tax and then wait for refund to avoid a court judgement against him.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complains the Council billed him for Council Tax after he had told it he was not liable as tenants moved into the property.
  2. Mr B says the Council has now refunded his money, but he had to pay to avoid a court judgement against his name for debt.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

  1. I read the papers put in by Mr B.
  2. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
  3. Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

  1. Mr B is the landlord of a property. The Council sent him a Council Tax bill in August 2019, explaining the amount was due in 5 monthly instalments. Mr B paid the first instalment in September.
  2. Mr B did not pay the second instalment in October and the Council sent a reminder. Mr B paid £280 in November and the Council told him to keep paying the instalments until an amended bill was issued as no details regarding the property being tenanted had been received.
  3. Mr B didn’t pay the December or January instalments. The Council sent another reminder and Mr B paid £280.
  4. Mr B didn’t pay the February instalment. On 20 February 2020 the Council issued a summons. Mr B paid the £489.50 owed on 27 February 2020
  5. The Council’s records show that on 27 February 2020 Mr B told the Council that tenants had moved into his property on 11 September 2019. The Council refunded £766 and removed the summons costs in March 2020.
  6. Mr B says he should not have had to pay as he thinks his tenants told the Council they moved in, in September 2019. He also had to make a number of telephone calls to the Council before the problem was sorted.
  7. I have looked at all the evidence. Mr B did not give the Council the details of his tenants until 27 February 2020 and so I cannot find fault in the Council’s actions. While he says he and the tenants contacted the Council earlier, there is no evidence that he gave the Council details before February 2020. So, as he was the owner of the flat and had paid the Council tax while the flat was empty I cannot say it was fault for the Council to bill him until it had details of the new tenants.

Back to top

Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint is not upheld.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Print this page

LGO logogram

Review your privacy settings

Required cookies

These cookies enable the website to function properly. You can only disable these by changing your browser preferences, but this will affect how the website performs.

View required cookies

Analytical cookies

Google Analytics cookies help us improve the performance of the website by understanding how visitors use the site.
We recommend you set these 'ON'.

View analytical cookies

In using Google Analytics, we do not collect or store personal information that could identify you (for example your name or address). We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data. Google has developed a tool to help you opt out of Google Analytics cookies.

Privacy settings