Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax second home premium the Council applied to Mr X’s account. This is because it is reasonable to expect him to appeal. We cannot investigate the decision his property is two dwellings as it was made by the Valuation Office Agency, not the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council did not respond to his questions about his council tax. He says it unfairly issued a council tax summons. This caused him stress and financial anxiety. He seeks a response, an apology and financial compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. The law allows councils to charge a council tax premium on empty properties.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council advised Mr X it would charge a second home premium of 100% on his property from April 2025 as it had been empty for more than two months.
7. Mr X complained in early 2025 that the Council had made errors in the charges on his council tax accounts. The Council upheld this complaint and revised the accounts. However, it did not agree to remove the second home premium.
8. Mr X complained further in March 2025 that his property was not a second home but an annexe and the Council should treat it as an exception.
9. The Council later issued a summons for non payment of council tax. Mr X paid, but said he was disputing the premium.
10. The Council did not reply to Mr X’s complaint until October 2025. It apologised for its delay. It explained the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) had banded the two properties separately, so there were two council tax accounts. It said it could not apply a single person discount to the two properties. It explained the reason why it had introduced the second home premium
11. Mr X has recently appealed to the Council for a premium exception on the basis his second property is an annexe.
12. Mr X’s can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if the Council rejects his appeal. I consider it is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal.
13. Mr X can apply to the VOA to challenge its listing of two separate properties. We cannot investigate the VOA as it is not a function of the Council.
14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to follow its complaint procedure in responding to his complaint. This is because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal regarding the Council’s second home premium decision. We cannot investigate the VOA.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman