City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (23 004 313)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Jul 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: A landlord complained that the Council had wrongly decided he was liable for council tax which his tenant should have paid. But we cannot investigate this matter as the landlord has already appealed to the Valuation Tribunal about the tax liability dispute.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The Valuation Tribunal (VT) is a tribunal that deals with appeals against councils’ decisions about council tax liability, discounts, and exemptions.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint. I also took account of the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council held Mr X liable for council tax on a property he used to own as it was not satisfied a tenant was living there at the time. Mr X felt the Council had unreasonably failed to accept the evidence he provided about the tenancy and the tenant’s occupation and he appealed to it about its decision. But the Council upheld its decision on appeal. It also informed Mr X about his further right of appeal to the VT.
- Following the Council’s decision Mr X had two months in which to make an on-time appeal to the VT. But he missed this deadline and appealed late. However the VT did not accept Mr X’s reasons for making a late appeal and declined to decide his case.
- But the law is clear that we cannot pursue a complaint when the person complaining has already used a right of appeal to a statutory tribunal such as the VT. This applies even if the appeal is unsuccessful or does not provide a complete remedy for the issue in question.
- In the circumstances I have decided that the restriction on our jurisdiction I refer to in paragraph 3 applies in Mr X’s case and, therefore, we cannot investigate matters in his case.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has wrongly charged him for council tax on a property he rented out to a tenant. This is because Mr X has already used his right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about this matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman