Summary: Mr X complains the Council made an error calculating his Council Tax bill. The Ombudsman has found that although the Council did not exercise best practice, this does not amount to a finding of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council made an error calculating his Council Tax bill. He was awarded a student exemption in 2018 but the Council then sent a large bill three years later. The Council said Mr X could pay by instalments, but he does not consider he should be liable for the Council’s mistake.
2. Mr X says he found it distressing receiving a large bill.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant and my conversation with him.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• Government guidance on Council Tax and information provided on the Councils website.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant legislation and policy

7. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 (LGFA) is the primary legislation for council tax. Council Tax is charged for occupation on a daily basis
8. Individuals will usually have to pay Council Tax when they are over 18. A full Council Tax bill is based on at least two adults living in a home. Discounts and exemptions are available.
9. An individual will get 25% off their Council Tax bill if they live on their own.
10. Households where everyone is a full-time student do not have to pay Council Tax. When the household receives a bill, they can apply for an exemption.
11. This is not the same for households where some members are students, and some are not. Council tax will be due, but the household might qualify for a discount. A household could be entitled to a 25% discount on Council Tax if all residents are full time students except one adult who is not a student.
12. Households need to apply for a Council Tax exemption or discount.

What happened

13. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.

Application

14. Mr X moved into the property in 2016. He lived alone and was allowed a 25% single person discount.
15. Ms Y moved into the property in April 2018. Mr X informed the Council in June 2018. The Council removed Mr X’s single person discount and the full amount of Council Tax was due.
16. Mr X enrolled on a four-year course which began September 2018. He was a student from this date.
17. In January 2019, Mr X submitted an online application for a student discount on his Council Tax. The Council processed his application and granted Mr X a full student exemption. No Council Tax was payable at the property.
18. There are several questions on the Council’s application form to discover who lives in the property and if the exemption is applicable.
19. Under the heading ‘Apply for a student reduction’, the form asks, ‘Is there anyone at least 18 years old living with you who is a student?’ (Q1). Mr X answered this question with ‘No’. The next question asks, ‘Does anyone else at least 18 years old live with you who is not a student?’ (Q2). Again, Mr X answered ‘No’. Mr X’s responses indicate he was the only adult living in the property at the time.
20. At the bottom of the form, there is a declaration which puts responsibility on the individual to ensure ‘the particulars provided within this application are true, accurate and complete’. The Council say they took the information provided at face value and applied the 100% student household exemption.
21. On the same application form, it also asks: ‘Are you married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership with a liable person within the dwelling?' (Q3). Mr X has answered this question with ‘Yes.’ The responses Mr X gave in Q1 and Q2 are therefore inconsistent with the response he gave for Q3.

The Councils review

22. The Council started a review of Mr X’s student status in November 2020. Correspondence took place over the next few months by email. The information provided by Mr X was slightly contradictory.
23. In an email to the Council in January 2021, Mr X says Ms Y is living at the property. Then, later in January 2021, Mr X completed an online student discount form in which he did not declare Ms Y to live at the property. He did send copies of her payslips to the Council, however. On the application form, Mr X declared Z lived with him. Z was 16 years old at the time.
24. In February 2021, the Council asked several questions in an email to Mr X. One of the questions asked if Ms Y lived at the property. Mr X responded to all the questions, apart from whether Ms Y lived at the property.
25. In March 2021, the Council emailed Mr X seeking clarification about the student status of Z. The Council did not follow up its query about Ms Y.
26. In April 2021, the Council considered the information provided by Mr X and established Ms Y had lived in the property since April 2018. It cancelled the student household exemption and applied a 25% student discount instead. The Council sent a revised bill to Mr X.

The complaint

27. Mr X emailed the Council in April 2021 and said he wished to complain. He said there must be a mistake and asked the Council to write off the revised bill. If there was not a mistake, he asked the Council to let him pay over five years.
28. The Council responded to Mr X, explained its calculations and how the exemptions applied. It confirmed the amount due was correct and offered Mr X the option to pay over 12 months. Mr X said he wanted the matter to go to court.
29. Mr X received a Court Summons and Liability Order in August 2021.
30. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in October 2021.
31. The Council wrote to Mr X in December 2021, setting out its response to his complaint to the Ombudsman. The Council explained it applied the student household exemption based on the information Mr X provided on his application form. It said there was no error in granting the exemption but offered a special repayment arrangement of £50 per month until January 2026.
32. Mr X has started making the monthly payments of £50.

Analysis

33. The Council recognises the Council Tax processing system does not prevent it from applying a student household exemption where a second non-student adult is recorded as a named occupant. It said if it had carefully examined the details on Mr X’s account when it received the application it would have raised a query about Ms Y’s occupation of the property. The Council says the appropriate action would have been to check these details with Mr X. It could have then decided whether to apply a 25% student discount or a 100% student household exemption. The Council apologised for not taking more care when making its decision at that time.
34. Checking the information was especially important in this case as Mr X gave contradictory details on the original student discount application form. The Council said it was entitled to rely on Mr X’s declaration that the information was accurate. It relied on Mr X’s responses at Q1 and Q2 where he said he was the only person over 18 living in the property. However at Q3, he said he was married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership with a liable person within the dwelling. Mr X’s responses were inconsistent. The Council could have checked this with Mr X at the time. While this was not best practice by the Council, I do not consider it amounts to a finding of fault.
35. The Council accepts that it normally conducts a review 12 months following the award of a student discount. The task is dependent on the needs and priorities of the Council, and at the time, it was dealing with extra work administering COVID-19 related grants and loans. The Council therefore did not review Mr X’s Council Tax account until November 2020, almost two years after applying the original exemption. This was not best practice by the Council, but I consider it falls short of a finding of fault.
36. There is also a duty on individuals to provide correct and accurate information to the Council and keep this updated. Mr X’s response to Q1 and Q2 on the student exemption application form were wrong at the time and misled the Council.
37. There is also a reasonable expectation that individuals will read the guidance on the Councils website about Council Tax and the different exemptions that may be applicable. Educational establishments direct their students to the Councils website for information on Council Tax. Mr X could have been more proactive in checking his own Council Tax account and ensuring the correct exemptions had been applied.
38. The Council has reviewed Mr X’s complaint and Council Tax account. The Council have offered Mr X a special payment arrangement of £50 per month, spreading payments until January 2026. Mr X has started making the payments. When I asked Mr X what remedy he was seeking, he asked for the Council to write off the outstanding amount or let him pay over a longer period. I consider the Council’s special payment arrangement offer to be a satisfactory outcome which mirrors the remedy sought by Mr X.

Back to top

Final decision

39. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision. I have now completed my investigation. The Ombudsman has found that although the Council did not exercise best practice, this does not amount to a finding of fault.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman