Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not acting on information from the complainant in 2018 about her council tax. This is because the Council has provided a fair and proportionate response and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council did not act on information she provided in 2018 about her council tax. She now has substantial arrears. Mrs X wants compensation and for the Council for waive the arrears.

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 an investigation if we decide:

• the Council has provided a fair response, 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 considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

Back to top

My assessment

4. A property is exempt from council tax if the only occupier has a severe mental impairment (SMI). A property is not exempt if other adults live in the property.
5. Mrs X moved into the property in 2018. The Council had exempted the property from council tax because Mr X had been awarded a SMI. Mr X immediately notified the Council that Mrs X had moved in. The Council acknowledged the email but no further action was taken.
6. In March 2019 the Council sent a council tax form asking for details of everyone living in the property. The Council says Mrs X did not return the form.
7. The Council sent council tax bills in 2019, 2020 and 2021 which said the property was exempt from council tax based on the property only being occupied by someone with a SMI. The bills said council tax would be payable if this was not correct. Mrs X did not query the bills.
8. Mrs X moved house in 2022. The Council then realised she should have paid council tax since 2018 and it issued a bill from 2018.
9. In response to her complaint the Council accepted Mrs X had reported the change in 2018 but said there was no record of the email on the system. It explained that due to the passage of time it would not be possible to find out what had happened to the email. The Council assessed an application for council tax support (CTS) and established that Mrs X’s income is too high to qualify. It considered a period from 2018 to 2019 and also found her income was too high. The Council has asked for further information about Mrs X’s income since 2018 and if she qualifies for any period it will make a discretionary award of CTS. The Council has deferred payment of the arrears until 2023 when Mrs X will have paid her water arrears and, based on consideration of her income and expenditure, it will set up a payment plan of £40 a month. The Council has awarded compensation of £100.
10. I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a fair and proportionate response and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome. Mrs X notified the Council she had moved in but, as this happened in 2018, it would not be possible for us to find out what happened to her email. The forms the Council sent between 2019 and 2021 gave Mrs X another chance to report the change and to highlight that the council tax had not been changed. If Mrs X had contacted the Council after getting these forms the period during which the arrears could accrue would have been less.
11. Despite this, the Council has offered £100, has checked entitlement to CTS and will make a discretionary award if Mrs X’s income was low enough at any time to qualify. And it has deferred payment of the arrears and set up a payment plan over a period of months based on consideration of Mrs X’s income and expenditure. This is a fair response and there is nothing more we would ask the Council to do.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a fair response and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman