The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax arrears and backdated liability. This is because the complainant could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and because the case has been considered in court.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about late billing for council tax. He says at least some of the debt is statute barred.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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.
We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes email exchanges about the council tax. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The council tax regulations do not set a time limit on backdating liability. Case law for the statute of limitations found the clock starts ticking when the bill or notice is served.
In 2022 Mr X’s partner told the council tax department she had moved in with Mr X. At that point the Council was unaware of the property or of Mr X. The Council made enquiries and discovered that Mr X had lived in the property since 2013. The property was not on the council tax list.
The Valuation Office inspected the property and placed it on the council tax list from 2013. In 2022 the Council issued Mr X with bills for council tax from 2013.
In January 2024 there was a liability hearing in court. A liability order is a court order stating the person must pay the council tax.
Mr X disputed liability with the Council. He provided different dates as to when he moved in and different dates for when he was living with a partner. The Council invited Mr X to provide evidence so it could reassess the period of liability. The Council told Mr X how he could appeal to the Council and then to the Valuation Tribunal.
Mr X says at least some of the debt is statute barred and the Council should have billed him before 2022. The Council told Mr X it could not have issued earlier bills because it had no knowledge of Mr X or the property.
I will not start an investigation because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he does not think he is liable for some or all the arrears. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider council tax appeals and the Council notified Mr X of his appeal rights. The tribunal is free to use and tribunal members are council tax experts.
I cannot start an investigation because the matter has been considered in court and we cannot investigate any matter that has formed part of legal proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and because the matter has formed part of legal proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman