Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council dealt with the council tax on a property he jointly owned with his mother. He said the Council incorrectly informed him that the property was exempt from council tax. The Council was at fault because it did not properly check who owned the property. It also failed to communicate effectively with Mr X. This caused Mr X frustration. The Council has already made procedural changes to prevent recurrence of the fault. It will also apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 for the time and trouble the matter caused him.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council dealt with the council tax on a property he jointly owned with his mother. He said when his mother died, the Council gave him a council tax exemption notice and six months later, it cancelled the exemption and issued him with a bill. He said the Council did not explain to him why it had issued him a bill. He also said following his mother’s death, the Council did not ask him about ownership of the property. Mr X said this caused him distress and inconvenience at a time of personal loss. It also affected his plans to move house.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X provided and the Council’s response to Mr X’s complaint.
5. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax administration and legislation

6. The primary legislation for council tax is the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (as amended) sets out the categories of property exempt from council tax. This includes properties in class F which are those forming part of a deceased person’s estate. If they remain unoccupied then the Council will apply an exemption until probate is granted. The exemption will then continue for a maximum period of six months provided the property remains unoccupied and ownership has not transferred from the deceased.
7. Section 6(2) of the Act sets out the hierarchy of liability for the council tax at a property. In general, people who live in a property are responsible for the council tax at the property. If no-one lives at the property, the owner is responsible.
8. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

What happened

9. In April 2020, Mr X’s mother died. Later that month, the Council wrote to Mr X as he was the executor of the estate. The Council informed Mr X that the property was exempt from council tax under class F. Provided the property remained unoccupied, the exemption would apply for six months from the date of probate to allow time for the property to be disposed of. The Council continued that there was nothing to pay until the exemption expired or if there was a relevant change in circumstances involving Mr X or the property.
10. In August 2020, the Council amended its procedures which would affect cases where the sole occupant of a property had died. The change meant the Council automatically searched via the Land Registry to confirm ownership of a property. Following this change, the Council reviewed Mr X’s late mother’s account in October 2020 and conducted a Land Registry search. The search revealed that Mr X was by then, the sole owner of the property. The Council amended its records and issued Mr X with a revised council tax bill backdated to April 2020. The Council did not provide Mr X with an explanation for the bill.
11. Mr X complained to the Council. He said following the exemption notice the Council sent him in April 2020, he proceeded to organise his affairs and those of his late mother’s estate, based on the information the Council had given him. Mr X said if he had known he was liable for council tax at the property, he would have moved to the property and benefitted from a single person discount. He continued that the co-owner of his primary property would have also benefitted from the discount.
12. Mr X advised the Council he was not the sole owner of the property in April 2020. He jointly owned the property with his mother and he had a minority share in it. He said the Council did not make it clear in April 2020 that the exemption did not apply if the property was owned by someone else other than the person who died. He added that the Council has never asked him for information about the ownership of the property.
13. Mr X paid the outstanding council tax on the property. He asked the Council to compensate him with a sum equivalent to six months’ worth of council tax on the property.
14. The Council responded to Mr X and apologised for not explaining why it had issued him a bill in October 2020. It said it had reminded all staff of the importance of providing an explanation letter where there was a change to an account. It continued that it had amended its correspondence to make it clear that the exemption under class F does not apply if someone other than the person who has died owns the property. The Council concluded that it was satisfied the account was administered correctly based on the information it had at the time. It said as soon as it became aware the information it held was incorrect, it acted accordingly. The Council told Mr X he could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, should he wish to challenge its decision for not awarding the exemption.
15. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman.

Findings

16. When Mr X’s mother died, the Council did not check the ownership of the property at the time. In addition, the exemption notice the Council issued to Mr X did not explain that the exemption would only apply if the property was owned solely by the person who had died. This was fault.
17. When the Council later issued Mr X a revised council tax bill, it did not explain to him why he was liable to pay. This was fault.
18. The exemption under class F does not apply in Mr X’s case as he jointly owned the property with his mother. This made him liable for the council tax on the property when his mother died. If the Council had acted without fault, Mr X would have been aware sooner that he was liable to pay the council tax.
19. We remedy direct personal injustice caused clearly by fault. Mr X said the way the Council dealt with the council tax on the property affected his decision to move house. We cannot know if Mr X would have acted differently had he known he was liable for the council tax. However, the fault did cause him frustration and time and trouble trying to resolve his complaint.
20. The Council has already made procedural changes to prevent a recurrence of fault. This is appropriate.

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Agreed action

21. Within one month of my final decision, the Council will apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 to acknowledge the time and trouble and frustration this matter caused him.

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Final decision

22. I have now completed my investigation. I have found fault which caused Mr X a personal injustice. The Council has agreed action to remedy the injustice caused by the fault identified.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman