Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has charged council tax for a period when the complainant did not live in the property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council is pursuing him for council tax for a period when he did not live in the property. Mr X wants the Council to close the council tax account and pay compensation.

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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. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. Tenants are liable to pay council tax when they hold a tenancy and are living in the property. They are usually responsible for the council tax until the end of the tenancy.
5. Mr X rented a property from September 2019 until August 2020. He moved out in June. The Council applied an empty homes discount which meant Mr X was not required to pay council tax from when he moved out until the end of the tenancy in August.
6. Mr X claimed council tax reduction (CTR) but he did not pay any council tax while he was living in the property and has not paid any money since leaving.
7. The Council took recovery action because Mr X did not pay any council tax while living in the property. The court issued a liability order which stated Mr X must pay £511. The Council asked Mr X to pay the arrears.
8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has asked Mr X to pay council tax for the period when he was living in the property and this debt has been confirmed by the court. The Council is not asking Mr X to pay council tax for the period when he was not living in the property.

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Final decision

9. We 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