Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Miss X’s council tax exemption. The Council has agreed to reissue its substantive decisions to Miss X, so that she can make use of her statutory right to appeal its decisions to the Valuation Tribunal. It has also agreed to place a hold on enforcement action while she does so.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council has refused to backdate her council tax exemption to the date she moved into her house, in 2003. She says it has not made clear how she can evidence eligibility for a qualifying benefit without being in receipt of the benefit. Miss X says the matter has caused her significant distress and she has been subjected to court action. She says she is having to make payments of nearly £500 a month to pay off arrears and prevent further legal action. She wants the Council to backdate her exemption to 2003 and refund any payments she has made since then.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. The Valuation Tribunal is usually best placed to consider appeals about council tax exemption. It is an independent tribunal with the power to decide whether someone is eligible for an exemption.
7. If we were to investigate Miss X’s complaint, it is likely we would find fault causing her injustice because the Council communicated two substantive decisions to Miss X without advising her of her rights of appeal. These decisions were:
• A decision Miss X was not eligible for the exemption in November 2021; and
• A decision the exemption would apply from March 2023, but not be backdated as per her request, in December 2023.
8. When Miss X raised concern about the Council’s decision, it considered the matter via its complaints process. However, Miss X expressed dissatisfaction with decisions that should have come with a statutory right of appeal.
9. Where a person has not been made aware of their right to appeal a decision via a tribunal, we may decide to investigate the matter because the person has lost their opportunity to appeal. However, we can only consider whether there is fault in how the Council made its decision, and in the absence of fault we could not question the decision itself, in the way the tribunal could. The tribunal remains the best body to consider an appeal, for this reason.
10. We therefore asked to the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by taking action, within one month of my decision, to resolve the complaint early:
• Reissuing the two decisions above, reinstating Miss X’s appeal rights and giving her clear information about how to appeal to the tribunal; and
• Placing a hold on recovery action for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 tax years, while the Valuation Tribunal considers any appeals Miss X submits.
11. Taking the above action would place Miss X back in the position she would have been in had the Council explained her appeal rights when it made substantive decisions. To its credit, the Council agreed to take the above actions within one month of this decision. It is open to Miss X to then make use of her appeal rights within the timescales the tribunal stipulates.

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Final decision

12. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the matter early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to
    Miss X, which puts her back in the position she would otherwise have been in.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman