Summary: We found fault with the Council for delays in setting up the Council Tax account in Ms X’s name. We also found fault with the Council delaying calculating and applying a Council Tax Reduction for Ms X. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and provide a symbolic financial gesture for the injustice its fault caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not provide them with necessary information under the Homes for Ukraine scheme about needing to transfer the Council Tax account into their name in 2023.
2. Ms X says because of this lack of information they struggled to apply for benefits. Ms X also says their landlord received the backdated 50% Council Tax reduction when the Council did set up the account in their name in 2025.
3. Ms X also complained the Council failed to suitably explain the backdated recalculations for Council Tax when it placed the account in their name in 2025.
4. Ms X also complained the Council failed to provide suitable support as part of agreeing their tenancy with their host, now landlord. Ms X says this lack of support caused lost opportunity to apply for Universal Credit because of delays by their now landlord.
5. Ms X says the Council did not handle their complaint in a suitable manner. Ms X says this caused distress and anxiety and prevented suitable opportunity for recourse through the complaint procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. 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)
7. 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

8. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision before I made a final decision.

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What I found

Rules and Regulations

Homes for Ukraine statutory guidance

10. The statutory guidance says Councils are expected to provide support for people in their area under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. However, it is up to the individual council how it decides to support people under the scheme.
11. The guidance says Councils should ensure people are housed within safe arrangements by completing a check of accommodation, signposting to relevant work and education services and supporting guests to find suitable long term rental accommodation when their sponsorship period ends.
12. The guidance outlines that people under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are entitled to a Council Tax disregard if they live in their own self-contained accommodation without the sponsor/host.

Homes for Ukraine Council policy and information

13. The Council’s website contains relevant information and links to the statutory guidance and support offered through the Council.
14. The Council agreed a contract with a third-party organisation to deliver the scheme on its behalf. This contract outlined the actions the third-party organisation would take on its behalf for Ukrainian guests. This broadly included:
• Completing set caseworker visits.
• Review properties to ensure they are fit for purpose and confirm the details of the proposed occupants of these properties.
• Signpost to other relevant support services as needed.
• Provide support for signing up for GPs, dental services, social media forums and school placements.
• Assess the relationship between the guests and the sponsors and, where appropriate, explore opportunities for re-matching.

Council Tax

15. Council tax is a combination a tax on the value of property and a tax on individuals living in the property.
16. The occupier or owner is liable to pay Council Tax. An occupier with a freehold or leasehold interest in the property is the primary person responsible for Council Tax. This is followed by an occupier with no interest and then ultimately the owner of the property.
17. A council has discretion to apply reductions and exemptions for Council Tax. A council will detail what reductions and exemptions it applies. Councils are under a duty to take reasonable steps to ascertain whether any discounts or exemptions should apply to taxpayers.
18. The Council’s Council Tax Support policy outlines it will calculate a Council Tax Reduction based on a person’s average weekly income. It will use this income to place a person in a band which will the Council will use to determine the amount of Council Tax Support a person is entitled to.
19. The Council’s policy outlines that if a person holds capital above £6,000 it will not offer any Council Tax Reduction under this scheme.

Council complaints procedure

20. The Council’s complaint procedure says it will provide a response to a complaint at stage one within 10 working days.
21. If a person is dissatisfied with their complaint they can request consideration at stage two. The Council says it will provide a response at stage two within twenty working days, at which point it will refer someone to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman).

What happened

22. In 2022, Ms X and her family moved to the United Kingdom under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
23. In 2023, Ms X and her family started the move into the Torridge Council area. At the start of April 2023, the third-party organisation acting on the Council’s behalf to administer the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the Organisation, told the Council Ms X would be moving into a self-contained property. The Organisation said the sponsor/host would not be living with them on site. The Organisation said this move was 95% likely to happen. The Organisation confirmed with the Council when this move was completed.
24. In May 2023, the Organisation completed the welcome visit to Ms X and her family.
25. In January 2025, Ms X contacted the Council to ask for the form to update the Council Tax account into her name. Ms X also asked about the possibility of recalculating the Council Tax charges for this address.
26. The Council responded in March 2025 to advise it could not update the account until Ms X’s landlord confirms the exact date she vacated the property. Ms X responded to advise of the date they moved in. At the end of March 2025, Ms X’s landlord contacted the Council and confirmed the relevant dates for the Council to set up an account in Ms X’s name.
27. In April 2025, the Council set up a Council Tax account in Ms X’s name. The Council applied the backdated 50% Council Tax Reduction under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The Council transferred credit from the landlords account to cover all Council Tax owed up to 31 March 2025, as consented by Ms X’s landlord, and refunded the landlord the remaining credit balance.
28. In May 2025, Ms X signed a tenancy agreement with her host, now landlord.
29. Ms X also submitted an application for Council Tax support in May 2025 and requested the Council backdated this to April 2023. The Council requested further information from Ms X to support this application.
30. In May 2025, Ms X complained to the Organisation. Ms X said:
• The organisation failed to support them in applying for Council Tax Reduction through a lack of information provided to them and said this was a lack of duty of care.
• She paid the Council in tax in full to her host from April 2023 to December 2024.
• The organisation should have provided them with template agreements, translations, explanations and mediation when transitioning from sponsorship to tenancy which it failed to do.
• They have suffered financial losses because of the absence of Council Tax recalculations and experienced distress and stress from the lack of support during the transition to tenancy.
31. The Organisation provided a complaint response to Ms X. The Organisation said:
• It apologised that it failed to signpost Ms X to the Council Tax Reduction scheme for Ukrainian guests in April 2023. The Organisation accepted the emotional and financial strain this may have caused.
• It was not responsible for drafting or translating tenancy agreements, acting as a legal intermediary between tenants and landlords or completing benefits/council applications.
• It was responsible for offering clear signposting to relevant resources, ensuring people are aware of their rights and responsibilities and providing support to transition to tenancies and facilitating informal communication with landlords/hosts. The Organisation said it regrets more support was not available to Ms X during transition to tenancy by way of a discussed meeting failing to take place.
• Ms X’s adviser has continued to offer a significant level of support, well beyond its funded remit, but it accepts there were gaps in the service which caused distress.
32. Ms X responded to the Organisation. Ms X said:
• The Organisation failed to support her in applying for Council Tax reduction in April 2025. When she did receive contact from the Organisation in May 2025, it told her she owed a Council Tax debt before being told a week later that this was incorrect and she did not owe a debt.
• The Council has not issued a Council Tax refund to Ms X.
• The Organisation failed to provide suitable advice about Council Tax reductions they might be entitled to and it was only on receipt of contact from the Council in May 2025 they became aware of this.
• It received the tenancy agreement at the end of April 2025 and were not given opportunity to review the document or receive translated explanations of the legal terms before being in rent arrears.
• The tenancy agreement contains errors and remains unsigned.
33. The Organisation provided a further response in which it said:
• The Council Tax account was held in Ms X’s landlord’s/host’s named until recently. As such, specific information cannot be shared about this. It understands the Council is in the process of reviewing any Council Tax support applications since it put the account in Ms X’s name and signposted Ms X to information about Council Tax Support.
• The tenancy agreement was created by Ms X’s landlord. While it shared a tenancy template with Ms X’s landlord it was the landlord’s responsibility to draft the tenancy agreement.
• Ms X should approach support from Citizens Advice or Shelter UK for support if she has concerns about the terms of the tenancy agreement.
34. The Council provided two responses in May 2025. Between these two responses, the Council said:
• It allows organisations running the Homes for Ukraine scheme on its behalf discretion in how it supports people depending on their needs.
• Following review in November 2024, it came to light that the owner of the property, Ms X’s landlord, was not residing at the property. The Council said Ms X and her family had been living there since April 2023 and paying the Council Tax to the landlord.
• Since becoming aware of the situation, the Council said it opened a Council Tax account in Ms X’s name. The Council said it applied a backdated reduction related to the Homes for Ukraine scheme to April 2023, moved funds from the previous account to settle the balance up to 1 April 2025 and refunded the remaining payment credit balance to the landlord.
• It needed further information from Ms X to finalise consideration of her application for Council Tax Support. The Council will consider backdating this award should it consider this applicable.
• Neither it nor the Organisation is obliged to provide tenancy agreements, translate them or provide legal advice about such matters to tenants. It is for Ms X to consider whether she agrees to the terms of the tenancy agreement.
35. At the end of May 2025 and start of June 2025, the Council started to chase Ms X for payment towards her Council Tax account. Ms X asked for a hold on chasing the debt while she got the relevant information for the Council Tax support application. The Council issued a Final Notice for payment in mid-June 2025.
36. The Council awarded Council Tax Support from May 2025 and issued a revised invoice to Ms X. The Council said it could offer a payment plan to Ms X for their Council Tax owed from April 2025 for the coming year.
37. In July 2025, Ms X contacted the Council’s Council Tax department to request details about the Council Tax. The Council responded to provide a breakdown of the charges, discounts and payments since April 2023. The Council said it needed more information from Ms X to backdate the Council Tax Support discount further than May 2025 and placed a 40-day hold on the Council Tax invoicing.
38. In August 2025, Ms X approached the Ombudsman with her complaint. We advised Ms X to get a stage two complaint response from the Council. Ms X sought consideration of her complaint at stage two. Ms X said:
• She and her family have lived at the property since April 2023, but the Council did not provide enough information about how to get the Council Tax account in their name. Ms X said this resulted in a substantial overpayment from April 2023 to December 2024 for Council Tax.
• It contacted the Council in January 2025 to request Council Tax support but the Council only provided the relevant forms in May 2025. Ms X said despite providing the relevant information, the Council had only applied Council Tax Support from May 2025 and not backdated this to April 2023.
• Because of the Council’s delays in considering her request for Council Tax Support, it has been issuing bills without this and chasing for payment.
• The Council had provided conflicting information about when it became aware that their landlord was not living at the property. Ms X said this delayed the Council setting up the Council Tax account in her name from January 2025 until April 2025.
• The Council should have issued any refund for overpayment to their landlord’s Council Tax account directly to themselves and not the landlord because they paid the money to their landlord who paid on their behalf.
• The Council is refusing to share information about their landlord’s Council Tax account meaning they cannot verify whether the refund issued was correct.
39. The Council responded to advise since Ms X had approached the Local Government Ombudsman with her complaint, and the Council had already issued two complaint responses in May 2025, it would not process this complaint as a stage two complaint. The Council directed Ms X back to the Ombudsman.
40. Ms X disputed the Council’s decision not to proceed to stage two of the complaints process. The Council reiterated since Ms X had approached the Ombudsman it would not investigate further.
41. In October 2025, the Council requested further information from Ms X to decide on the backdated Council Tax Support. The Council placed a further 30-day hold to the account.
42. In November 2025, the Council decided to backdate Council Tax Support from 29 May 2023. The Council decided Ms X did not qualify for Council Tax Support in April 2023 because Ms X held capital above the limit and her income placed her in a band which did not entitle her to Council Tax Support. The Council said Ms X did not qualify for Council Tax Support from the end of April 2023 to 29 May 2023 because it had instead applied a 100% Council Tax disregard for this period. The Council explained its application of Council Tax Support to Ms X in a letter.

Analysis

Council Tax account

43. A council should place a Council Tax account in the relevant person’s name. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the Council should place a Council Tax account in the occupier’s name with a person with ownership rights being ahead of someone renting.
44. The Council had a Council Tax account set up with the owner of the property in 2023. This was the correct position before Ms X moved into the property.
45. Before Ms X moved into the property, the Organisation told the Council Ms X would be moving into the property as a self-contained property and the owner would not be living there. The Organisation followed up this contact confirming when Ms X completed the move. This means Ms X and her family with the relevant occupiers of the property and, therefore, responsible for Council Tax since they moved into the property in April 2023. The Council had confirmation to support this. This meant the Council should have set up a Council Tax account in Ms X’s name. The Council did not do this; this was fault.
46. The Council’s failure to set up a Council Tax account in Ms X’s name caused delays in the Council applying the relevant Homes for Ukraine Council Tax reduction until April 2023. The Council’s fault caused Ms X to incur extra expenses in paying for Council Tax, through her landlord, for two years and experience financial hardship.
47. Ms X has explained she experienced other issues in applying for other benefits because the Council Tax was not in her name. I do not consider this is an injustice caused directly by the Council’s fault I have identified in paragraph 45. While the Council’s fault was the originating factor, if Ms X was being prevented from accessing other benefits because of this, she would have been told as such on rejection of any application for such benefits. Ms X could then have contacted the Council during this 21-month period up to January 2025 to mitigate her own injustice about access to other benefits outside Council Tax.
48. Following Ms X contacting the Council at the end of January 2025 the Council corrected the situation by setting an account up in Ms X’s name by the start of April 2025. I do not consider this a significant delay by the Council and do not find fault.

Council Tax recalculation and refund

49. When the Council placed the Council Tax account in Ms X’s name it applied a 50% reduction as a Council Tax Reduction in line with the Homes for Ukraine scheme from the date Ms X moved in. This ensured the Council set the account up correctly for Ms X.
50. The Council removed all charges from the account set up in the landlord’s name as these had been passed over to the account in Ms X’s name. The Council agreed with Ms X’s landlord to settle any Council Tax owed on Ms X’s account up to the end of March 2025 using the funds from the Council Tax account in the landlord’s name. Because of the 50% Homes for Ukraine discount, Ms X’s landlord’s account remained in credit. The Council refunded the remaining credit balance to Ms X’s landlord.
51. Ms X had paid her landlord money since April 2023 for her Council Tax which the landlord then paid the Council for the account in the landlord’s name. Since the landlord paid the money to the Council, the Council could only repay this money back to the landlord and not Ms X. Any dispute about passing on this refund from the landlord to Ms X would be a dispute between Ms X and her landlord and does not involve the Council.
52. The Council has provided Ms X with a breakdown of the charges it has applied for the accounts in her name. Ms X is aware of the money she has paid to the landlord. Ms X can therefore use this information to work out if her landlord has passed on the correct refund. The Council is not entitled to share any information from the landlord’s account with Ms X and it told Ms X this.
53. I do not find fault with how the Council set up Ms X’s Council Tax account and processed the refund.

Council Tax Support backdate

54. Following Ms X’s request for Council Tax support in May 2025, the Council set up a Council Tax Support reduction from May 2025 without significant delay. I do not find fault with the Council for this.
55. However, Ms X and the Council have been in contact since May 2025 over Ms X’s request to backdate Council Tax Support to April 2023. The Council has requested further information from Ms X on several occasions, meaning Ms X has contributed towards the overall time taken. But equally some of the delay from May 2025 to October 2025 was caused by the Council’s delay in contact and its requests for Ms X to re-submit evidence she had already provided; this was fault.
56. In November 2025, the Council completed a full review of Council Tax Support for Ms X going back to April 2023. The Council has applied the appropriate Council Tax Support reductions in line with its policy and backdated this for Ms X’s account. I do not find fault with the Council’s actions in completing this backdate.
57. While the Council was at fault for delays in deciding about whether to backdate Council Tax support, I do not find it at fault for chasing Ms X for payment towards her Council Tax. Even when a person has a dispute about Council Tax they are still obliged to make payment towards this. If a person does not make payment then a council is entitled to chase for payment. The Council applied two short-term pauses to chasing for the Council Tax but outside of this it was entitled to send reminders to Ms X about paying.

Support in agreeing Tenancy

58. Ms X complained the Council failed to support her in agreeing a tenancy with her landlord. Ms X said this included a failure to provide translation services, template tenancy agreements and representatives at meetings.
59. Government guidance does not require a Council to provide support in agreeing tenancy agreements or to provide translation services. The Council’s policy and agreement with the third-party organisation also does not include provision of these services. I do not find fault with the Council.
60. Any dispute about the contents of a tenancy agreement is a private matter between Ms X and her landlord; this does not involve the Council.

Complaint handling

61. The Council provided a complaint response to Ms X one day outside its stage one complaint timescales. This delay of one day was fault but did not cause a significant personal injustice to Ms X.
62. Within May 2025, The Organisation provided two complaint responses. The first in eight working days and the second in five working days. The Organisation issued both within the Council’s complaint timescales. I do not find fault.
63. At formal stage two with the Council, it provided a quick response advising Ms X it would not produce a stage two complaint response because Ms X had already approached the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is the further escalation point beyond stage two. Since Ms X had already approached the Ombudsman, the Council has acted appropriately to confirm Ms X could proceed directly without issuing a stage two response. I do not find fault with the Council for this.

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Action

64. Within one month of the Ombudsman’s final decision the Council will:
• Provide an apology to Ms X and a payment of £300 as a symbolic gesture for the distress and inconvenience the Council caused through its delays setting up the Council Tax account in Ms X’s name and delays in calculating and applying the relevant Council Tax Reduction. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
65. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

66. There was fault leading to injustice. As the Council has agreed to my recommendations, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman