Summary: Mrs D says the Council failed to tell her she was liable to pay Council Tax over a four-year period. The Ombudsman has discontinued the investigation because it is unlikely he would find fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant (whom I refer to as Mrs D) says she believed she was exempt from Council Tax and the Council failed to notify her of her liability for a four-year period. It is now pursuing payment of the outstanding balance.

Back to top

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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I have examined the information provided by Mrs D.
4. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

Back to top

What I found

What happened

5. Mrs D’s husband passed away in 2018, she understood she was not liable to pay Council Tax. In fact, the Council’s website explains that she would only be exempt for six months after her husband’s death.
6. The Council sent Mrs D an annual Council Tax statement which she never queried.
7. In 2022 the Council reviewed her case and found she had been liable for a four-year period and sent her a bill.
8. Mrs D complained to the Council, and it considered her case. In its initial, stage one, reply it explained that it sought information from Mrs D at the time of her bereavement and she had not responded. In addition, she had never queried the annual Council Tax statements. It set out ways to possibly lower the bill and make affordable payments. This was reiterated in the stage two complaint response. The Council said that whilst it might have reviewed her case earlier the responsibility lay with Mrs D to ensure she was in the correct Council Tax category.

What should have happened

9. When a couple are resident, and one partner dies the remaining occupant of a property can be exempt from Council Tax payments for a six-month period. After that time, they will likely become liable to pay Council Tax. When the Council is notified of a death it sends the partner a questionnaire to assess Council Tax liability. The onus is on the occupant to complete and return the form. Similarly, the Council sends annual Council Tax bills. Again, the responsibility lies with the occupant to check they are in the correct Council Tax category.

Was there fault by the Council

Mrs D says the Council should have told her sooner that she was liable for Council Tax payments. Whilst I understand this must be distressing for her, the onus of responsibility in such matters lies with the occupant, not the Council. It was up to Mrs D to ensure she was in the correct Council Tax category. Given this I do not see there is a basis to warrant further investigation. We are unlikely to find any additional information to that already available and so unlikely to find fault.

Back to top

Final decision

10. I have discontinued the investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman