Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability as it is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now. In addition, Mr X had the right to appeal against the liability decisions to the Valuation Tribunal and it is reasonable to expect him to have done so.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about council tax the Council collected from him in 2020 in respect of his rental property which Mr X says was empty and due to be compulsorily purchased by the Council. Mr X wants the Council to reimburse him with the money he has paid as he does not consider he was liable for the tax. Mr X says this has caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s complaint is made late to us as he knew about the problem he complains about in 2020 but did not bring the complaint to us until July 2023. Mr X gives no reason for coming to us late. We can exercise discretion to investigate late complaints if we think there are good reasons to do so. I have not seen good reasons in this case and we will not therefore investigate.
8. We are not empowered to determine council tax liability. Disputes about this are heard as appeals by the independent Government agency, the Valuation Tribunal (VT). It was reasonable for Mr X to appeal against the liability decisions at the time and therefore as per paragraph 4, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now plus Mr X had the right to appeal against the liability decisions to the VT.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman