Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is billing the complainant for council tax on an unhabitable property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has charged council tax on an uninhabitable property. Mr X does not think he should have to pay.

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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 it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Council tax

4. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) decides what council tax band a property is in and whether a property should be removed from council tax. The VOA is not part of the Council. If someone disagrees with a decision made by the VOA they can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. The Council has to charge council tax based on the decisions made by the VOA. The Council cannot remove a property from council tax.
5. The Council offers a 100% council tax discount on empty and unfurnished properties for one month. After that it charges full council tax. Once a property has been empty and unfurnished for two years the Council charges extra council tax (a premium). A change of property ownership does not alter the time scale for when the premium starts.

What happened

6. In September 2020 Mr X bought a property to renovate. It had been empty and unfurnished since December 2018. Mr X says the property is uninhabitable. The Council has charged council tax since September and the premium since December.
7. Mr X complained he should not have to pay council tax due to the condition of the property and because he does not receive any services. He said he was trying to restore a property and he pays council tax for the property he lives in. In response the Council explained it had correctly charged the council tax and the charge was not based on receipt of services. It offered a payment arrangement and suggested Mr X contact the VOA to see if the property could be removed from council tax due to its condition. The Council said it could not waive the charge.
8. Mr X wrote to the VOA in January. The Council has not received any notification from the VOA to remove or reduce the council tax.

Assessment

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council could only remove the council tax if the VOA told the Council that it had removed the property from council tax due to its condition. Unless the VOA tells the Council to stop charging council tax then the Council must continue to bill Mr X. If the VOA decides not to remove the property from council tax Mr X could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagreed with the decision.
10. The Council has correctly billed Mr X because the discount was only available for the first month that the property was empty. It was then subject to full council tax until the property became subject to the premium. The Council’s council tax decisions are consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation. In addition, we are not an appeal body and have no power to tell the council it must exempt Mr X from the council tax.
11. I cannot investigate any decision made by the VOA because it is not part of the Council.

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Final decision

12. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman