Summary: We have found injustice to Miss X arising from delay in setting up her council tax account and the uncertainty she experienced about the local services available to her. The Council has agreed to the recommended actions we proposed to it.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council delayed in setting up her council tax account following her move to a flat that had changed from commercial to residential use. She says the Council failed to provide waste collection or street cleaning services despite collecting council tax, and then issued a large, backdated bill. Miss X seeks a financial remedy and the immediate implementation of standard local services.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant guidance and legislation

Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992

7. These regulations set out the processes for creating and administering council tax accounts. Councils must issue accurate and timely bills and maintain proper records to support their decisions. While councils may backdate liability, they are expected to act promptly when they become aware a property may be liable for council tax.

Good administrative practice (LGSCO)

8. The Ombudsman’s principles of good administrative practice require councils to keep clear and accurate records, respond to enquiries fully and within a reasonable timeframe, and be able to explain the basis for their decisions. Councils are also expected to exercise discretion appropriately and provide information that enables residents to understand their position.

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What happened

9. Miss X took possession of Property A in April 2023 and moved in in May 2023. She says her letting agent informed the Council in late June 2023 that the building had changed from commercial to residential use and requested the creation of individual council tax accounts and household waste and recycling services for the seven flats. Miss X says the agent received an automated acknowledgement confirming the matter would be dealt with within 40 days. She did not receive a council tax bill and says she followed up on several occasions.
10. In January 2025 the Council issued a backdated council tax bill covering the period since May 2023. Miss X considered this unfair, particularly given the lack of council services, and submitted a Stage 1 complaint. In its Stage 1 response, the Council said the first notification it had received regarding her tenancy was on 30 July 2024 and apologised for the delay. It said the property was banded by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in early December 2024 and the council tax account was created in mid/late January 2025. Miss X told the Council she had already submitted an online Single Person Discount form, supported by an automated acknowledgement.
11. Miss X says she has not received kerbside waste, recycling or food waste collections since moving in. She says only a private commercial bin, paid for by the landlord, is available at the property. She says the managing agent had requested domestic waste and recycling bins in June 2023, but these were not provided. The Council’s complaint responses stated that a communal bin arrangement existed and that individual bins would need to be requested. At Stage 2, the Council said the problems Miss X had reported with her bin would be escalated.
12. Miss X also says Road X has not been routinely street cleaned since she moved in, while neighbouring streets appear to receive scheduled cleaning. She says the road is heavily parked and requires advance parking suspensions for proper cleaning, which she has observed on nearby roads.
13. Miss X has agreed a payment plan with the Council for the backdated charges. The Council says it has not applied enforcement or additional costs. Miss X later confirmed she moved out of the property in June 2025.
14. As part of my investigation, I made enquiries to the Council. Of note, the Council said:
• It received no notification of Miss X’s tenancy until July 2024;
• It referred the property to the VOA in August 2024 and received a response in December 2024;
• A communal waste collection was in place, and individual bins would only be provided on request.
15. The Council did not:
• Confirm whether it holds the June 2023 email from the managing agent referenced by Miss X;
• Confirm whether kerbside waste, recycling or food waste collections had since been implemented, or from what date;
• Respond to my questions about whether routine street cleaning had been carried out in the area;
• Confirm whether it had received any requests from the managing agent for domestic waste services;
• Confirm whether it had considered offering any discretionary reduction or symbolic remedy to reflect the reported lack of services during the billing period.

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Analysis

Delay in setting up the council tax account

16. Councils are entitled to backdate council tax liability where a property should have been listed earlier for domestic rating. However, they are expected to act promptly when notified that a property has become liable and to maintain adequate records of correspondence and service requests.
17. Miss X has provided evidence to the Council that her managing agent emailed it on 30 June 2023 and received an automated acknowledgement. She also submitted an online Single Person Discount application and received an automated confirmation in response. The Council says it has no record of these contacts and did not demonstrate what searches it undertook to locate them, including checks with other departments or mailboxes. On the balance of probabilities, I consider it likely Miss X or her agent attempted to notify the Council earlier than July 2024, and the lack of records or explanation from the Council contributes to the uncertainty she experienced.
18. Once the Council received a VOA banding list in early December 2024, it took until mid/later January 2025 to set up the council tax account. The Council attributes this delay to backlogs. Administrative backlogs are not, in themselves, justification for delay in exercising statutory responsibilities.
19. On balance, I consider the Council has not demonstrated it acted promptly or kept adequate records. The delay contributed to the late issue of a significant backdated bill, which caused uncertainty and frustration to Miss X. On this point, I have made a finding of fault.

Provision of waste and recycling services

20. Councils must ensure properties receive appropriate domestic waste and recycling services. Where converted properties rely on communal arrangements, the Council must ensure these are suitable, clearly communicated, and functioning in practice. If a resident reports persistent service failure, the Council is expected to investigate and provide evidence to show services were operating as intended.
21. Miss X says she has not received any kerbside waste, recycling or food waste collections since she moved in. She also says her managing agent contacted the Council in June 2023 to request services. The Council says there is a communal bin arrangement but did not provide evidence to show what services were in place, how collections operated, or whether any requests for individual bins or service activation had been received.
22. The Council also did not confirm whether kerbside collections have since been implemented, or from what date.
23. Miss X’s evidence indicates that no household waste, recycling or food-waste collections have been provided since she moved in, and that the flats have relied instead on a private commercial bin paid for by the landlord. The managing agent reportedly requested appropriate domestic bins in June 2023, and the Council’s Stage 2 response acknowledged “problems” with the bin arrangements. The Council did not provide evidence to show what services were in place or how it responded to these reports. In the absence of this information, I cannot determine that the Council ensured appropriate waste services were operating at the property. The lack of clarity has caused uncertainty to Miss X about what services she was entitled to and whether her concerns were properly considered. On this point, I have made a finding of fault for failing to provide clear information about the service and its operation.

Street cleaning on Road X

24. Councils must operate a reasonable street cleaning schedule and respond to concerns about cleanliness or safety. They should be able to demonstrate when streets are cleaned and provide information about service levels in response to enquiries.
25. Miss X says Road X has not been routinely cleaned since she moved in and is often cluttered and slippery. I asked the Council to explain the street cleaning schedule for the road, whether cleaning had taken place, and whether the road received services comparable to surrounding streets. The Council did not respond to these questions. The Council said it did not hold this information.
26. Because the Council has not supplied evidence that routine street cleaning was carried out, I cannot be satisfied the service was delivered. This is likely to be fault. The absence of a response has also caused uncertainty to Miss X.

Consideration of remedy for delayed services and backdated billing

27. Councils may consider a discretionary reduction, staged billing, or symbolic remedy where circumstances suggest this might be appropriate, including where there has been delay or where a resident reports a lack of services during a backdated billing period.
28. I note that Miss X has agreed a payment plan with the Council and the Council says this arrangement is not subject to enforcement activity or additional costs.

Injustice

29. As set out above, the information available shows Miss X experienced avoidable uncertainty over a prolonged period. She reports not receiving kerbside waste, recycling or food waste collections, and says Road X was not routinely cleaned while surrounding streets were. The Council was unable to clarify what services were in place, when they were implemented, or whether any service requests had been received from the managing agent. It also did not provide information in response to several of my enquiries, which has left Miss X without clear answers about the services she should have received.
30. Miss X also provided photographs and supporting information to the Council to illustrate her concerns and made repeated attempts to clarify her position with the Council, which I consider amounts to avoidable time and trouble.
31. I also acknowledge that the Council has agreed a payment plan for the backdated council tax bill and that no enforcement action or additional costs have been applied. This reduces the immediate financial impact on Miss X. However, it does not address the uncertainty and frustration caused by the delay in setting up her council tax account, nor the separate uncertainty she experienced about the local services available to her or the effort she has had to make to obtain clarity.
32. A symbolic financial remedy is appropriate to recognise the uncertainty, frustration and time and trouble Miss X experienced as a result of the Council’s actions.

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Agreed action

33. To remedy the injustice identified in this complaint, the Council will:
1. Send a written apology to Miss X for the uncertainty she experienced about the waste, recycling and street-cleaning services available at her property, and for the time and trouble she was put to in pursuing the matter.
2. Pay Miss X £250 to acknowledge the uncertainty and frustration caused by the delay in setting up her council tax account and the lack of clear information about the local waste and street-cleaning services available to her.
3. Pay Miss X £100 to recognise the time and trouble she experienced in raising her concerns with the Council and engaging with this investigation.
34. The Council will complete action points a-c within one month of the Ombudsman’s final decision. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

35. We have found injustice to Miss X arising from delay in setting up her council tax account and the uncertainty she experienced about the local services available to her. The Council has agreed to the recommended actions we proposed to it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman