Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about incorrect council tax bills. This is because the problem has been resolved and there is insufficient evidence of injustice. In addition, we cannot investigate a council when it is operating as a landlord.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council twice sent a wrong council tax bill for £140. Mr X regards the Council’s actions as being an attack on his family.

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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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• the problem has been resolved.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

5. Mr X left a Council property in July. He notified the council tax department and his account was closed from July. However, information from the housing service showed he remained liable for rent until August, so the council tax liability was extended until August and the Council sent Mr X a council tax bill for £140.
6. Mr X complained and sent proof the tenancy ended in July. The council tax team liaised with the housing team and established that Mr X had given the correct notice and his tenancy ended in July. Then Council said Mr X owed no council tax and the council tax records and housing records would be updated to reflect August.
7. About a month later the Council issued another demand for £140. It explained that while it had decided to end the council tax liability from July the housing records still showed August as the tenancy end date. However, the Council has since changed the council tax end date back to July and has confirmed to Mr X that he does not owe any council tax. The Council apologised for the frustration and stress.
8. The law says we cannot investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord. For this reason, I cannot comment on the actions of the housing service.
9. The Council issued two council tax bills in error. I will not, however, start an investigation because the problem has been resolved and there is not enough remaining injustice to require an investigation. The Council has apologised, explained what went wrong and confirmed Mr X does not owe any council tax. I appreciate Mr X has been inconvenienced and felt stressed, but this does not represent a degree of injustice which requires an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not start an investigation because the problem has been resolved and there is not enough remaining injustice to require an investigation. In addition, I cannot investigate the actions of the housing service.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman