Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (25 019 865)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 30 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council tax premium because it was withdrawn by the complainant.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council incorrectly applied a Council tax premium to her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that the Council unreasonably applied a Council tax premium to her property which was in a state of disrepair. The property was subsequently removed from the Council tax listing by the Valuation Office Agency in February 2026 and backdated to March 2025. Ms X appealed successfully to the Valuation Tribunal against the Council’s decision not to exercise its discretion to waive the Council tax.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate a complaint which has been appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. Ms X has now withdrawn her complaint to this office.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she withdrew her complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman