London Borough of Islington (24 002 027)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 May 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability because the matter was out of time and there was a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X disputes liability for a Council debt from 2012.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says that he should not be held liable for Council tax for a period in 2012.
- The Council says that it considers he was liable and had written to him on several occasions since the original liability occurred.
- Any dispute about liability for Council tax could be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
- Further, Mr X was aware of the dispute in 2012 and subsequent years. I see no reason why such a complaint could not have been made to this office within 12 months and so is additionally out of jurisdiction for this reason.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could have appealed to a Valuation Tribunal and the matter is out of time.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman