Slough Borough Council (26 013 259)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Aug 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax reduction. Mr X has a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and it would be reasonable to expect him to use it.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council refused to apply a council tax reduction to his property. Mr X said the property was uninhabitable and so a reduction should be applied, but the Council disagreed and refused to apply a reduction.
- Mr X also complained about how the Council considered his complaint.
- Mr X said this caused him a financial impact.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Disputes about a Council tax premium or exemption can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. The Valuation Tribunal is an independent body which can determine any disputes about liability, discounts or exemptions from Council tax.
- The available evidence suggests it would be reasonable to expect Mr X to use this right of appeal and so we will not investigate this complaint.
- As we cannot investigate the substantive matters of the complaint, we will not investigate the Council’s handling of the complaint because it is not proportionate to do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable to expect him to use his right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman