City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (25 006 424)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability because the matter was appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to hold him liable for Council tax on a property he says was rented to another.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X disputed a Council tax liability decision in July 2024. The Council made a final decision in December 2024 and Mr X appealed to a Valuation Tribunal in May 2025. The Valuation Tribunal dismissed the appeal because it was out of time.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint for the reason given in paragraph three above.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman