Birmingham City Council (25 017 497)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a council tax account. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider it now.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council is wrongly holding her liable for her late father’s council tax debt. She said this has caused her worry and frustration. She would like the Council to apologise, remove her father’s debt and pay her compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council’s correspondence.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained the Council had incorrectly pursued her for her late father’s council tax debt. Miss X raised this matter with the Council in July 2024. However, she first complained about this to the Ombudsman in October 2025.
- The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year.
- This is a late complaint and we should not investigate. We have discretion to set aside this restriction where we decide there are good reasons. In this case I have decided not to exercise discretion because it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have complained to us about the Council’s treatment of her father’s council tax debt sooner.
- In any case, disputes about liability can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman