Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability. It would be reasonable for the complainant to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, to whom I refer here as Mr X says the Council was at fault when charging Council tax from him for the ground floor of his property. This part of the property is leased to a tenant who should be held liable for the Council tax payments. Mr X was convinced that the Council tax payments he made were in fact business rates for the first floor of the property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. There has been an ongoing dispute regarding Mr X’s liability for Council tax for the part of his property.
7. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on Council tax liability and Council tax support or reduction.
8. Any dispute about liability for Council tax can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an expert body and their decisions are binding on the Council. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case.
9. In cases where we do not investigate the matters in a complaint, we do not separately investigate the Council’s complaint handling process.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable to expect Mr X to complain to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman