Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s decision to charge her the empty property premium for a property she owns. She says the Council removed the premium, and then reversed its decision a week later. She also says the Council refused to investigate a missing payment. The Council was at fault for wrongly advising Miss B it had removed the premium. The Council apologised to Miss B for the inconvenience caused. This is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained about the Council’s decision to charge her the empty property premium for a property she owns. She says the Council removed the premium, and then reversed its decision a week later. She also says the Council refused to investigate a missing payment.
2. Miss B says the Council’s actions have affected her emotionally and financially.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

6. I considered information from Miss B and the Council.
7. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax – empty property premium

8. Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties.
9. From April 2013, local authorities have been able to charge a premium on properties that are empty.
10. The Council charged a 50% premium for properties empty for two to five years from 1 April 2020. It increased the premium to 100% from 1 April 2023.
11. The Council’s policy is properties that are left empty by a member of the armed forces or that form part of a single property, for example an annexe, will be exempt from the premium.

What happened

12. Miss B bought a buy to let property to rent to homeless people. The property was empty when she bought it.
13. Miss B contacted the Council several months later and said she had experienced issues finding a tenant which is why the property was still empty. She said she wanted it to consider removing the empty property premium as it had caused her a delay in getting a tenant. She also said she made a payment to the council tax department, but it had not been credited to her account.
14. Miss B sent a further email. She said she contacted her bank about the missing payment, and it provided her with a tracking number. She asked it to confirm receipt of the payment. She also sent further representations on why it was not her fault the property was still empty.
15. The Council emailed Miss B and confirmed it had removed the premium from her account. It sent another email the following week and asked for a bank statement or receipt showing she made the payment so it could investigate the matter further. It said it had applied a 50% premium as the property was empty for more than two years. It apologised for wrongly telling her it had removed the premium.
16. Miss B complained to the Council. She said it removed the premium and then re-instated it. She said it was unfair to charge her the premium as she was waiting on the Council to find her a tenant. She also said she was unhappy it refused to accept the tracking number for the missing payment.
17. The Council responded to Miss B’s complaint. It apologised it incorrectly advised her it had removed the premium. It said the premium applies to the property. This means it remains in effect regardless of any change in liability. With regards to the missing payment, it said it noted she had contacted the customer services department and cancelled the payment.

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Analysis

18. The Council was at fault for wrongly advising Miss B it had removed the empty property premium. This caused her confusion and unreasonably raised her expectations.
19. The Council apologised to Miss B on two occasions for this fault. My role is to consider whether this is sufficient to remedy Miss B’s injustice.
20. While I appreciate Miss B’s frustrations with the delay in finding her a tenant, there is no scope in the Council’s policy to waive the premium for these reasons. There is no dispute the property was empty for more than two years. Therefore, there is no fault in the way the Council made its decision to charge the premium.
21. The Council’s fault, while frustrating for Miss B, was relatively short-lived and the matter was clarified within a week. Therefore, I consider the Council’s apology is sufficient to remedy her injustice. I do not recommend anything further.
22. With regards to the missing payment, Miss B provided the tracking number. However, the Council asked her to provide a bank statement or receipt to show she made the payment. I do not consider this is an unreasonable request, and it is not unusual for someone to provide such evidence as proof of payment. Therefore, I do not find fault.

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Final decision

23. There was fault by the Council, which caused Miss B an injustice. The Council has taken sufficient action to remedy this injustice. I do not recommend anything further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman