London Borough of Lambeth (24 016 620)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax enforcement because there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council held her liable for Council tax for a period After she left the property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (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.
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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 left a property in April 2023 and was told that she did not owe any Council tax. However, the Council then issued her with a bill for Council tax as the landlord stated that she was still liable under the terms of her tenancy. The Council issued the bills to her last known address which resulted in enforcement costs added to the bill.
- Any dispute about liability for Council tax can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
- The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
- Ms X says that she did not notify the Council of her forwarding address as she understood she was not liable for any further Council tax. However, the Council could only issue the bills to her last known address and so any further costs were not the result of fault by the Council.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman