Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax enforcement because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has taken enforcement action against her for unpaid Council tax on a property she owns.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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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. Ms X owns a separate property which she rents out. She says that bailiffs visited her to enforce a Council tax debt of which she was unaware. She says that her second tenant did not inform the Council of Ms X’s name as owner (as Ms X employs an agent).
8. The Council has advised Ms X of the debt.
9. Any dispute about liability for Council tax (either a tenant or landlord) can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. I therefore consider that it would be reasonable to pursue an appeal in this case.
10. Ms X, as landlord, was required to notify the Council of any changes to liability, eg where a new tenant moves in or when she bought the house.. Any failure of her agent to do so is a private matter between the two parties. The Council says they were not told of Ms X’s ownership of the property at the time and so all correspondence went to the property itself.
11. In the absence of administrative fault by the Council and the right of appeal to a tribunal, the Ombudsman would not investigate this complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman