Summary: Mrs X complains the Council closed her Council Tax account in 2015, refunded her some of the money she paid and told her her landlord was liable for the payments. Mrs X complains the Council then later billed her for Council Tax payments between 2013 and 2022. Mrs X says the Council took legal action to recover the costs without notifying her. Mrs X says this caused her a great deal of distress and she has incurred a debt of around £9,000. We have found the Council at fault for failing to act sooner on information regarding Mrs X’s property which impacted on the Council Tax due. The Council has agreed to waive the 2022/2023 Council Tax payments in addition to the amount it has already waived.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council closed her Council Tax account in 2015, refunded her some of the money she paid and told her her landlord was liable for the payments. Mrs X complains the Council then later billed her for Council Tax payments between 2013 and 2022. Mrs X says the Council took legal action to recover the costs without notifying her.
2. Mrs X says this caused her a great deal of distress and she has incurred a debt of around £9,000.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, 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 the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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 Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mrs X and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Council tax is a combination of a tax on the value of a property and a tax on individuals. The owner or occupier pays it.
8. The full council tax bill assumes there are two or more adults living in a home. If only one adult lives in the property, the council tax bill is reduced by 25% (Local Government Finance Act 1992). This is called a single person discount.
9. Councils issue demand notices annually. Residents are responsible for paying their council tax bills in monthly instalments. Council’s must send the person liable for payment of council tax a reminder and a notice before taking recovery action.
10. Councils may serve the documents/letters on a person by delivering it to them (in person), leaving it at their proper address or sending it by post to their proper address. Proper address is taken to be the last known address.
11. Recovery action is through the issue of a summons and getting a liability order through the magistrates' courts. Options include payment orders, attachment of earnings orders, seizure and sale of goods following the issue of a warrant, registered charges on property and, in extreme cases, imprisonment.

What happened

12. Mrs X registered to pay Council Tax at her property in October 2013. Mrs X made payments to the Council for her Council Tax up until mid-2015.
13. Mrs X’s landlord wrote to the Council in mid-2015 and said they would now be responsible for paying the Council Tax for the property and the Council amended its records in line with this.
14. Mrs X says she queried this with the Council at the time and was told that her landlord was now liable for the Council Tax.
15. The Council arranged an inspection of the property in June 2021, but this did not go ahead due to access issues.
16. Mrs X told the Council again in December 2021 the property had previously been split into two dwellings. Mrs X’s landlord also confirmed this.
17. Mrs X moved out of the property in October 2022.
18. Mrs X’s landlord told the Council again in May 2023 the property had been split into two properties in 2013 and an inspection took place.
19. The Inspector registered the property as two dwellings in July 2023. The Council issued a demand addressed to Mrs X in mid-July 2023 however she was not aware of the debt until February 2025 when she received a bailiff letter.
20. Mrs X raised a complaint with the Council in March 2025 and said the Council had said her landlord was responsible for the Council Tax payments in 2015. She said she had moved out of the property in October 2022 and had not received any correspondence from the Council regarding Council Tax or any outstanding debt.
21. The Council responded in March 2025 and said it had registered the property as two flats after an inspection and Mrs X was liable for the Council Tax. The Council said it would put recovery action on hold to agree a payment plan for the outstanding debt of £8,977.
22. Mrs X raised a stage two complaint and said the property was split into two flats before she moved in. She said she had asked the Council to reinstate her Council Tax account in 2015 but was told her landlord was liable.
23. The Council responded in May 2025 and said following an inspection and confirmation the property was split in two it created a new account in July 2023. This billed Mrs X from 2013 until she left in October 2022. The Council said bailiffs had located Mrs X in January 2025 and it had withdrawn all costs associated with chasing the debt following her complaint. The Council said Mrs X could arrange a payment plan to repay the outstanding debt.
24. Following my enquiries the Council has confirmed it has awarded Mrs X Council Tax support for the period of November 2014 to October 2022 which has reduced the outstanding amount. In addition, the Council has applied a discretionary reduction for the period of October 2013 to March 2017 which has reduced the outstanding amount to £3,524.19.

Analysis

25. The Council says Mrs X told it the property she lived in had been split into two separate flats prior to her moving in when she contacted it in June 2021. The Council arranged a visit but could not gain access. It does not appear any further action was taken to inspect the properties following the unsuccessful visit. Mrs X told the Council again in December 2021 that the properties had previously been split. I cannot see the Council took any action to arrange an inspection until May 2023. This is fault.
26. Mrs X has been caused significant distress by receiving a bailiff’s letter for a debt she did not know had accrued.
27. Had the Council have acted in 2021 when Mrs X told it the property had been split this would have limited the arrears which occurred on Mrs X’s account. Mrs X would have had the opportunity to pay her 2022/2023 Council Tax as it fell due rather than this also being added to the debt.
28. I acknowledge and welcome that the Council has reduced the outstanding amount it says Mrs X owes to £3,524.19 following the complaint. However, this does not go far enough to rectify the injustice Mrs X has suffered.

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Action

29. Within four weeks of a final decision, the Council should:

• Write to Mrs X to apologise for the distress caused by the fault identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Write off the Council Tax due for the proportion of the 2022/2023 period charged to Mrs X and propose and new payment plan for the reduced outstanding amount. This should take into account Mrs X’s income and expenditure.

30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

31. I find fault causing injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman