Wakefield City Council (23 018 162)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Mar 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability because she has appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council has overcharged her Council tax on a 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)
- 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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that the Council refused to accept co-ownership of a property with another person and made unreasonable decisions about entitlement to Council tax discounts.
- The Council says that Ms X was joint owner of Property A from September 2022 to July 2023. It says that Ms X advised them in July 2023 that she bought Property A in September 2022 but moved out to Property B.
- The Council says that empty homes premium applied from December 2022. Ms X says the house was uninhabitable. The Council says that Council tax still applies if the house is being renovated. Any dispute as to whether the property should be on the Council tax register is a matter for the Valuation Office Agency (which is out of jurisdiction).
- Any dispute as to liability for Council tax (or entitlement to discounts) is a matter for the Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. Ms X has now appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
- Ms X says that the Council did not send her Council tax bills promptly. Whilst I appreciate that this can be frustrating, the Ombudsman expects those liable to set aside money to cover the eventual bill.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman