Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing council tax liability for a holiday let property. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council changing his liability for business rates for a holiday chalet which he rents out to a council tax liability for a second home. He says the charge is excessive and he does not benefit from the services which the council tax is levied for.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X owns a holiday chalet which he rents for part of the year to tenants. He used to pay business rates on the property but from April 2023 the Council has issued council tax demands for the chalet as a second home. Mr X complained about the charge because he does not use the services paid for from council tax and does not live in the property.
6. The Council explained to Mr X that from 1 April 2023 the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) introduced changes in the eligibility for business rates on self-catering properties in England and Wales. From that date any property which does not meet the strict conditions on occupation periods will become liable for council tax as a second home. Mr X’s chalet falls within the new regulations.
7. The Council is a billing authority and its role is to collect council tax according to the rating system created by the VOA. It cannot change the charge placed on a property and although it has applied exemptions for periods when Mr X cannot use his property, it must collect the payments for which the owner is liable.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing council tax liability for a holiday let property. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman