Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a dispute over liability for council tax. This is because liability disputes are best dealt with appeals to the specialist Valuation Tribunal, and it is reasonable to expect the complainant to appeal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council removing his student exemption for the financial year 2022/23. He says the Council advised him that it had been mistaken to have treated him as an exempt student and he is now required to pay the debt.
2. Mr X says this is causing him a great deal of stress and worry.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. It was reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal because the tribunal is free to use and is the appropriate body to determine council tax liability disputes. If the tribunal decided Mr X was not liable it would have told the Council to apply the student exemption.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman