Birmingham City Council (21 017 104)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability because the complainant can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has made him liable for the council tax on a property he rents to tenants. He wants the Council to make the correct person liable.
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 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
- Landlords must pay the council tax for any period when a property is not rented to tenants.
- The Council made Mr X liable for the council tax on a property he owns from April 2019 to August 2021. It made him liable after the tenant said they had moved out.
- Mr X says he let the property to new tenants and he provided some supporting evidence to the Council. He says he provided proof of tenancy and rent payments. The Council decided the evidence was insufficient to remove the liability from Mr X. For example, the Council did credit checks and found no record of the new tenant at the property.
- The Council has invited Mr X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal regarding the liability dispute.
- Mr X had also said the property was uninhabitable. The Council invited Mr X to contact the Valuation Office to have the property removed from council tax. The Council cannot remove a property from the council tax list.
- I will not investigate this complaint because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal because the tribunal is the appropriate body to decide if Mr X is liable for the council tax. The tribunal can decide who is liable and instruct the Council to bill that person. The tribunal is free to use and made up of council tax experts.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman