London Borough of Croydon (21 010 692)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Nov 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. It was reasonable for Mr X to challenge the Council’s recovery of a debt by way of an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council charging him council tax for a period when he had sold a property and vacated the premises. He says he paid the debt reluctantly following court action by the Council. He says the Council should repay him for the period which he says he was not liable for.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says he received council tax bills for a property which he vacated on 15 July following its sale to another party. The Council pursued the new owner for the debt until it received evidence that the sale was completed on 30 July. This was confirmed by the Land Registry.
- Mr X paid the outstanding debt, but he says he should not be liable for the period after he moved out of the property. The Council can determine who it holds liable for council tax, and it has decided on the basis of the date of completion that Mr X owed the outstanding debt.
- We will not normally investigate complaints about matters where there is a right of appeal to an independent tribunal and it is reasonable to do so. In this case Mr X could have challenged the Council’s recovery of the debt by appealing to the Valuation Tribunal which is the proper authority to consider disputes about liability.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. It was reasonable for Mr X to challenge the Council’s recovery of a debt by way of an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman