Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed informing him of an increase council tax charge for the 2024/25 tax year. Mr X said his property was uninhabitable and if the Council told him within a reasonable timescale, he would have completed works sooner. There was fault in the way the Council delayed telling Mr X of the increased charges. This frustrated Mr X. The Council remedy was appropriate in acknowledging the impact of its fault on Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council delayed informing him of an increase council tax charge for the 2024/25 tax year. Mr X said his property was uninhabitable and if the Council told him within a reasonable timescale, he would have completed works sooner.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
5. If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have not investigated any matter regarding the council tax liability. This is appealable to the Valuation Office, and it is reasonable for Mr X to use this appeal right.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to him about it on the phone.
8. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

10. Every property has a council tax band. The Valuation Office, which is part of central government, decides which band a property is in. So we cannot investigate that decision. If someone wants to change their property’s council tax band they can apply to the Valuation Office. If this is refused, they can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
11. There are laws and regulations that control how councils collect council tax payments and how they can make people pay council tax they owe. (Council Tax [Administration and Enforcement] Regulations 1992)
12. Laws and regulations also control how enforcement agents can collect money owed to the council. (The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007)
13. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect this through monthly instalments. If a person who has to pay council tax misses any instalment, the council will send them a reminder. If they still do not pay, or miss another payment, then they must pay all they owe (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
14. Councils who want to recover unpaid council tax have to ask the magistrate’s court for a liability order against people it thinks owe it the money. Once a council has a liability order it can take action to recover the money and any court costs owed.

What happened

15. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
16. Mr X inherited a property in May 2022 and became the sole owner in December 2023.
17. Mr X approached the Council in June 2024, explaining why he should not have to pay the full council tax liability. The Council response directed Mr X to the Valuation Office.
18. The Council applied a 200% charge to the property in January 2025, back dated to April 2024. Mr X challenged the Council and said the property was uninhabitable and he should not have to pay the backdated amount. The Council explained the property had been empty since May 2022. The Council explained its system did not pick up the error, and it identified the issue when completing a manual check on the account.
19. Mr X complained to the Council in July 2025. He complained the Council incorrectly calculated his council tax and delayed telling him.
20. The Council responded to the complaint two weeks later. The response explained the unoccupied exemption. The Council confirmed Mr X should appeal to the Valuation Office if he disagreed with the council's decision. The Council explained its error in delaying telling Mr X and upheld this complaint. The Council agreed to place recovery action on hold to recognise the error. It also agreed for Mr X to arrange a payment plan.
21. Mr X asked the Council to escalate his complaint to stage two. The Council issued its stage two response in August 2025. The Council explained it visited the property and did not consider it uninhabitable. It explained Mr X’s right to appeal to the Valuation Office. The Council repeated it would pause recovery action, not apply any legal charges and would spread the charge over a longer period.
22. Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mr X would like the Council to not apply the additional premiums and remove some of the charges.
23. In response to my enquiries the Council explained its error and confirmed the error did not impact others.

My findings

24. I cannot comment on any matter relating to the council tax billing. Mr X disagrees with the additional premiums added to his council tax liability. The tribunal is an independent expert body. The Council must do what the tribunal tells it to. Mr X could appeal to the tribunal in this case. It is reasonable for him to appeal this matter to the Valuation Office.
25. Mr X complained about the delayed bill, saying he would have completed the work on the property sooner, if he knew he would incur additional costs. I cannot retrospectively apply this approach, but can consider if the Council was at fault for the delays in telling Mr X.
26. The Council should have applied any charges from the start of the financial year, April 2024, and inform Mr X. The Council did not tell Mr X until January 2025 and backdated the charge. This delay is fault.
27. The Council explained its system did not pick up Mr X’s property and accepted this delay was fault. When it completed a manual check on the property, it recognised this error and applied the charge. The Council accepted this fault, apologised, removed recovery charges and offered a payment plan over an extended period. This is a suitable remedy to acknowledge the injustice the Council fault caused.

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Decision

28. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council. The Council apologised and satisfactorily remedied the injustice this caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman