Sheffield City Council (21 014 242)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Feb 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. The complaint is about the start of court action. It would be reasonable for Mr X to use his right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about council tax demands.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council has charged him council tax and sent him court summons for properties he owns but is not legally liable for because he rents the properties out.
- Mr X also says the Council charged him council tax for a property he wanted to sell but at the last minute told him it had first refusal.
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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (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
- The court summonses issued by the Council are the start of court action. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint.
- Mr X also has the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about any council tax demands he disputes.
- The Valuation tribunal is a free and easy to access service whose role is to consider council tax disputes.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it involves the start of court action, and it would be reasonable for him to use his rights of appeal at the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman