Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that about the council tax empty property premium. This is because the complainant can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council significantly increased his council tax even though he followed the instructions the Council gave him in January 2020.

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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 an investigation if we believe:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I found out that Mr X has submitted a council tax appeal to the Council. I considered comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Council tax empty property premium

7. Councils can charge extra council tax on a property that has been empty and unfurnished for more than two years.
8. For council tax purposes, only one property can be someone’s main residence.

What happened

9. Mr X’s firm owns property A. Mr X was living in property B. Property B is in a different council area. The Council told Mr X the empty property premium would apply to property A from January 2020. Mr X said he would move into property A. The Council explained he could only have one home as his main residence. The Council accepted Mr X’s evidence that he had moved into property A. It sent Mr X a bill for standard council tax from January for property A.
10. In October the Council found out Mr X had moved back to property B in March. Mr X moved back to be near his family during lockdown. He explained that he had remained liable for council tax at property B throughout the period and says the Council did not tell him he should tell Barnsley Council he had moved to property A. The Council also found out that Mr X had put the property on the market in February 2020 and the photographs showed the property was unfurnished. Mr X told the Council that while he stayed in property A the property only contained a mattress and renovation materials. Mr X says the fact he put the property on the market does not mean he was not living there. Mr X says he lived in property A for long enough to mean the premium does not apply and he did everything the Council asked him to do.
11. The Council decided Mr X had not lived in property A as his main residence. It issued a new bill from January 2020 which included the empty property premium.
12. In response to his complaint the Council explained what had happened and why it had decided to apply the council tax premium. It said it had failed to issue a decision letter and failed to tell Mr X he could appeal. The Council gave Mr X appeal rights in December and said that it he was dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal he could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
13. Mr X submitted an appeal to the Council in January and has made a payment arrangement for the council tax.

Assessment

14. I will not start an investigation because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagrees with the Council’s response to his appeal. It is reasonable to expect him to appeal because the tribunal is the appropriate body to decide if Mr X was living in property A as his main residence, and whether the Council was correct to apply the empty property premium. The tribunal is made up of independent council tax experts who are nothing to do with the Council. Mr X has suggested he will complain again to us if he is dissatisfied with the outcome. If he is unhappy with the Council’s appeal decision then we expect him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. Or, if he is dissatisfied with the outcome of the tribunal then we cannot start an investigation because the law says we cannot investigate any issue that has been considered by the tribunal. In short, this is a dispute which needs to be dealt with by the Valuation Tribunal.
15. Mr X says the Council did not tell him to tell Barnsley Council he had moved to property A. But, the Council told Mr X that he could only register for council tax for one property. On this basis it is reasonable to expect that Mr X would have reported that he had moved out of property B. Mr X says he lived in property A for long enough to mean the premium does not apply. This, however, is a matter for the Valuation Tribunal to determine.
16. The Council failed to notify Mr X of the new council tax decision and give him appeal rights. However, this did not cause an injustice because the Council subsequently issued appeal rights which Mr X is now using.

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Final decision

17. I will not start an investigation because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman