Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability as this is a matter for the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has wrongly held Mr Y liable for council tax and should have awarded a class E exemption to his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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. 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)

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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. Mr X is Mr Y’s representative and complains the Council failed to apply a Class E council tax exemption (liable person permanently in a nursing/care home) to the property Mr Y owns and used to live in after Mr Y moved from that property to supported living accommodation and then to a care home.
8. In its complaint responses to Mr X, the Council said the property Mr Y owns was not eligible for a Class E exemption because it was not Mr Y’s sole or primary residence immediately prior to him moving to a care home.
9. The Valuation Tribunal (VT) is the independent tribunal which hears appeals about council tax liability. It can decide if the Council has correctly determined Mr Y’s liability. We are not another level of appeal and cannot make such determinations. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to appeal to the VT on Mr Y's behalf regarding this matter and we will not therefore investigate.
10. In addition. Mr X has been Mr Y’s representative since 2023 and the matters complained about took place in 2022. As Mr X did not complain to us until February 2025, the complaint looks to be made late to us. As per paragraph four, the law says we should generally not investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because council tax liability disputes are for the VT to decide.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman