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

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says he registered for council tax in 2017 but the Council did not send him a bill until 2021. He wants the Council to waive the arrears because the debt is not his fault.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. Mr X moved into his home in 2017. He found a council tax form in the property which he sent to the Council. He also registered to vote and completed the census.
5. In 2021 the Council sent Mr X his first council tax bill and asked for £5782. This is the council tax due from when he moved into the property.
6. In response to his complaint the Council said it had not issued a council tax information form to that property and had not received any information from Mr X to say he had moved in and needed to register for council tax. It explained he had a duty to register for council tax and, if he thought he had, he could have chased the Council after a few weeks to say he had not received a bill. The Council also explained that registering to vote is not the same as registering for council tax and the actions are dealt with by different departments. The Council said it had done a review of empty homes and discovered Mr X is the owner through Land Registry records.
7. The Council invited Mr X to apply for benefit and to make a payment plan. It said the bill was correct and would not be waived. Mr X has made a payment plan for the current financial year.
8. Mr X says the Council knew the former occupier was no longer liable for council tax because of the form he found in the property. Mr X says the Council should be fined and for it to waive or partially waive the arrears.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has no record of Mr X registering for council tax and it would be impossible for us to determine if it did receive the form in 2017. If Mr X believed he had registered then it is reasonable to expect he would have contacted the Council to chase a bill. However, Mr X took no action and did not pay any council tax until 2021. If Mr X had contacted the Council in 2017 to chase a bill then the arrears would have been much less.
10. In addition, not everyone who registers to vote is liable for council tax and registering to vote is not the same as registering to pay council tax. But, again, if Mr X thought registering to vote was sufficient then he could have chased a bill when registering to vote did not trigger the Council to issue a bill. And, the fact that the Council stopped billing the previous occupier, does not mean it knew Mr X was in the property.
11. Mr X is liable to pay council tax from the date he bought the house and he has benefitted from council services since then. The Council acted appropriately by inviting Mr X to apply for benefits and by setting up a payment plan so he can pay the arrears over a period of months.

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Final decision

12. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman