Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about liability for council tax from 2022 and the Council’s application of exemptions to an account. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council charging him too much for the years following 2022 because he says he should have been entitled to an exemption for the property when his daughter occupied it as a student.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says the Council charged him too much council tax in the past because his daughter occupied the property he owns for a time when she was entitled to a student exemption. He queried the account and provided information in 2023 but the Council did not review his case until August 2024.
7. The Council told him his account was in credit but he believes he should have been entitled to more. He did not complain to us until July 2025. The Local Government Act 1974 places some restrictions on what we can investigate. One of these restrictions relates to complaints about matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before they brought it to our attention. This restriction applies to Mr X’s complaint.
8. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
9. We have some discretion to consider older complaints in certain circumstances but this would not apply to Mr X’s compalint. If he had raised the matter with us in 2023 or 2024 it is likely that we would have referred him to the Valuation Tribunal, which is the body which deals with challenges to liability and exemptions.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about liability for council tax from 2022 and the Council’s application of exemptions to an account. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman