Manchester City Council (25 021 105)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s council tax liability. This is because the complaint is late, and the Valuation Tribunal is the appropriate body to consider the matter.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council is chasing him for council tax it says he owes from a property he left in 2018.
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)
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the issues raised happened too long ago. Mr X knew about the issues more than 12 months ago, and I see no good reason why he could not have complained sooner.
- Even if Mr X had complained sooner, we would not have investigated his complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for him to have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal about his council tax liability.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and the Valuation Tribunal are better placed to deal with concerns about council tax liability.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman