Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council charged council tax for a period after the complainant left a property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the complainant could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. In addition, we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant would like.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council is pursuing him for council tax arrears despite knowing he no longer lives at the property. Mr X wants us to arrest and charge officers.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (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 Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says the Council has asked him to pay council tax despite knowing he has left the property. He wants the Council to stop sending him bills for money he does not owe.
7. Mr X was a Housing Association tenant. His landlord started possession proceedings in March but he remained in the property until September 2023.
8. The Council explained the arrears are for the council tax year which ended in March 2023. It said he does not owe council tax for this council tax year and does not owe council tax for any period after he left the property. The Council said Mr X could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagreed he owes the council tax.
9. During the summer the Council started to collect the arrears by arranging for deductions to be made from Mr X’s benefits.
10. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council explained the council tax arrears arose for a period before Mr X left the property. In addition, the law allows councils to collect arrears by arranging for deductions to be made from benefits.
11. Mr X says the Council provided inaccurate information about the date he left the property. But, he was living in the property at the end of March 2023 so this dispute has no bearing on arrears that arose before that date.
12. If Mr X disagreed he owed the money, he could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate body to deal with council tax disputes. Mr X says he did appeal because he escalated his complaint to the Council. Mr X escalated his complaint to the Council but there is no evidence he appealed to the tribunal. And, if he has appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, the law prevents us from starting an investigation.
13. I also will not investigate this complaint because we could not achieve the outcome Mr X wants. We have no power to have anyone arrested or charged.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because Mr X could have used his appeal rights. In addition, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X would like.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman