Summary: We have upheld Ms X’s complaint about enforcement of Council tax arears. The Council have accepted a suitable remedy for the in-time matters.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council mishandled her council tax account by issuing delayed backdated bills and taking unfair enforcement action without properly considering her financial hardship.

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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. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. 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(6) & 24A(7), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. In 2022 the Council was incorrectly informed Ms X had vacated her rental property and closed her council tax account. In 2023 Ms X told the Council she remained in occupation. The Council made enquiries and, in 2024, reinstated her liability and issued backdated bills.
8. We normally expect complaints to be brought to us within 12 months. Ms X was aware of the backdated billing more than 12 months before approaching us. I have considered whether there are good reasons to investigate these earlier events but have found none. I will not therefore consider matters before April 2024.
9. From April 2024, Ms X says the Council unfairly pursued recovery action despite her financial hardship. The Council invited Ms X to apply for Council Tax Support and for discretionary relief. Ms X submitted a discretionary relief application in October 2024. The Council reviewed the information provided but identified gaps in the evidence and requested further information. When this was not provided, the Council did not make a decision on the application and continued to pursue enforcement.
10. The Council was entitled to request further information. However, where that information is not provided within a reasonable time, a decision should be made based on the information available. By failing to do so, the Council was at fault. This fault caused an injustice because without a decision Ms X didn’t have access to her right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
11. In 2025 Ms X paid the arrears and the Council waived the enforcement costs. This means Ms X did not pay more than she would otherwise have owed. While I recognise the recovery action and backdated billing caused Ms X distress, I do not consider it to have caused any significant injustice. I am therefore satisfied the injustice relates only to the lack of a decision on the discretionary relief application.
12. We have asked the Council to remedy this by making a decision on Ms X’s application based on the information it already holds. This will allow Ms X to exercise her right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if she disagrees with the outcome.

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Final decision

13. We have upheld Ms X’s complaint. The Council have accepted a suitable remedy for the in-time matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman