Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council recovering unpaid council tax from the executors of a previous account holder. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. It is reasonable for the executors to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if they dispute personal liability for the debts belonging to the estate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council sending council tax bills to her in 2023 for accounts belonging to her late father dating back to 2022. She says she became co-executor of the estate in 2017 and that the debts are statute barred by time and that an exemption should be applied to the property from 2015 to 2023. She is concerned that the Council may commence court proceedings if she does not pay the outstanding amounts.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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

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. Miss X says she received council tax demands for debts on her late father’s estate in November 2023. The debts relate to periods from 2002 to 2017 and she says the debts before his death in 2015 should be written off because they are statute-barred. She believes an exemption should have been applied from 2015 onwards because of the condition of the property which was uninhabitable.
7. The Limitation Act 1980 applies a 6-year limit for court action to be taken to recover unpaid debts. In the case of council tax recovery this does not apply to existing liability orders which are for an unlimited period. However, new orders for old debts may fall within the 6-year limitation. Miss X has been an executor since 2017 and she believes that it is too late for her to be taken to court for estate debts at this stage.
8. The Council has not yet taken any recovery action other than issuing demands for the unpaid tax. Because she was not made aware of the debts until late 2023 Miss X may be able to appeal against the liability for the debt to the Valuation Tribunal which is the proper authority to decide who is liable to pay council tax.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
10. We cannot say it is fault for a council to pursue outstanding council tax debts because it has a duty to do so. We cannot determine who is liable to pay council tax or who may qualify for exemptions because this is the role of the Valuation Tribunal.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council recovering unpaid council tax from the executors of a previous account holder. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. It is reasonable for the executors to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if they dispute personal liability for the debts belonging to the estate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman