Summary: Mr X complained about the Council charging him full council tax for a property which he says was tenanted by others in the past and where he is living on universal credit at present. We should not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to challenge council tax liability by appealing to the Valuation Tribunal which is the proper authority to determine liability.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council charging him full council tax for a property which he says he did not live at until more recently. He says the Council have told him it considers his property to have been rented as a house in multiple occupation since 2019 and he claims it was rented to a single tenant who was responsible for council tax.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
5. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response. Mr X has been given an opportunity to comment on a draft copy of my decision.

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What I found

7. Mr X says he is being charged the full council amount for his property even though he is on universal credit and is not receiving council tax support. He also says he has been billed for a period prior to March 2019 when he says the property was rented out and he was living elsewhere.
8. He has tried to appeal against the Council’s decision, but it told him that it cannot give an appeal decision on his liability until he provides information it has asked for about previous tenants and dates of occupation. He says he does not have this information and that he can’t apply for council tax support without providing it.
9. The Council advised Mr X in September 2020 that he had a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagreed with its decision. This is the only body which can determine liability for council tax.
10. Mr X also complained about the Council billing him for a previous account which was closed in early 2019 and for which it obtained a liability order from the magistrates court. He says he was unaware of the order at the time because he was not resident. The Ombudsman cannot investigate matters which have been subject to a decision by a court.

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Final decision

11. We should not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to challenge council tax liability by appealing to the Valuation Tribunal which is the proper authority to determine liability.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman