Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. This is because the complainant has a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal that it would be reasonable for him to use.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council his holding him liable for a property he rents to tenants. Mr X says the Council has incorrectly classified the property as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

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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. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council considers a property that Mr X owns to be a HMO and therefore holds him liable for the council tax. It has asked Mr X to provide copies of tenancy agreements showing that his tenants are liable for council tax. Mr X provided a heavily redacted version of the agreements, so the Council asked him to provide unredacted copies.
8. Decisions about liability for council tax can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. The Tribunal is an expert, impartial body, set up by Parliament for people to challenge council tax decisions. When there is a right of appeal to a tribunal, the Ombudsman normally expects people to use that right, unless it is unreasonable for them to do so.
9. It is not our role to investigate whether his property is a HMO of if he is liable for council tax on it. If Mr X feels he has provided sufficient information to the Council to prove the property is not a HMO, or if he provides further information and it does not change the Councils view then it would be reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. For this reason, we will not investigate Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman