Summary: Mr X is unhappy that due to Council policy, he will have to pay council tax on a property he intends to buy and renovate. We will not investigate as Mr X is not caused an injustice by the Council as it his personal choice to buy such a property or not.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s policy to charge council tax on empty properties that are being renovated. Mr X is about to buy such a property and is unhappy he will have to pay council tax on it.

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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 the alleged fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and sent him my draft decision on it for his comments.

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What I found

5. Mr X complains about the Council’s policy to offer no discount on empty properties that are undergoing renovations. Mr X is about to buy such a property and is unhappy he will be charged council tax on it.
6. Mr X says other councils have different policies whereby some discount is offered.

Analysis

7. It is Mr X’s own choice as to whether to buy a property that he knows needs renovating and will still attract a council tax charge. Mr X is not therefore caused an injustice by the Council’s policy.
8. The Council by law has discretion to decide what charge empty properties attract. We cannot challenge the Council’s policy on this as the law says it can only be challenged by way of judicial review in the courts.
9. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. My decision is that we will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X is not caused an injustice and we have no remit to challenge the Council’s council tax policy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman