The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mrs X complains the Council mistakenly closed her council tax account. Mrs X says she informed the Council she still lived at the property, but it failed to act on the information she provided it. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. Although the Council’s decision to close Mrs X’s account was substantiated, it took a significantly long time to reopen it, which caused an injustice to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council mistakenly closed her council tax account despite informing it she still lived at the property. Mrs X says that when the Council did eventually reopen the account, it issued her with a backdated council tax bill. Mrs X says due to the time that has passed; she is unable to apply for council tax support that would have otherwise been available to her if the account was open at the time. Mrs X would like the Council to write-off the bill.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I spoke with Mrs X and considered the information she provided. I raised enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided. I also considered any comments from Mrs X and the Council in response to my draft decision.
What I found
Relevant legislation and guidance Council Tax Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties. Residents of dwellings are usually liable for council tax from the date they move into a property.
A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If any instalment is missed the council will send the liable person a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
It is not for the Ombudsman to determine the liability of Council Tax, that's because there's a separate an independent review and appeal process. Appeals against the decision of a billing authority that someone is liable for the council tax are made first in writing to the Council and then an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service, so such cases are out of jurisdiction under S26(6)(a) of the 1974 Act.
Council Tax Support (CTS) Council tax support are local schemes to help those on a low income with payment towards all or part of their council tax. Each council has its own rules for what it will pay working age claimants.
Decisions on eligibility for council tax support must be sent in writing to an applicant. Where a decision is to award council tax support the decision must tell an applicant: how their entitlement to council tax support will be discharged; of their duty to tell the Council of a change of circumstances; of the consequences about not telling the Council of a change in circumstances; and of the circumstances where a change might affect an applicants entitlement to council tax support or the amount received.
Regardless of the outcome of a decision on the eligibility for council tax support the decision must tell applicants about their right to have the decision reviewed should they disagree with the decision and their right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. (Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012, Schedule 8, Part 3, Section 12(4)) Within one month of receiving a decision on eligibility for council tax support, an applicant can ask the Council to provide a written statement setting out the reasons for its decision. (Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012, Schedule 8, Part 3, Section 12(5)) Backdating liability There is no limit on how far a council can backdate liability. In Hammersmith & Fulham Billing Authority v Butler [2001 (RVR 197)] the court found that the relevant date for liability should be calculated according to statutory principles, not the date the taxpayer first learned of the decision of the authority.
Discretionary Council Tax Hardship Scheme (DCTHS) The Council's Discretionary Council Tax Hardship Scheme (DCTHS) is for people wo are experiencing exceptional hardship through no fault of their own. If approved, applicants could qualify for help to reduce their council tax bill. To qualify for the scheme, applicants must demonstrate that they applied for all other help, such as Council Tax Support and any other reductions.
What happened
Background
Mrs X lives in a building with several other flats. Each flat shares a common number but is differentiated by a letter. For the purpose of this complaint, I will refer to Mrs X's property as Property A.
Prior to Mrs X submitting her complaint to our service, she was making repayments as per a repayment plan agreed with the Council. The Council agreed to temporarily pause collection of any instalments until after the Ombudsman's investigation.
Summary of events I have included a summary of some of the key events in this complaint. This is not intended to be a comprehensive account of everything that took place.
In September 2018, the Council closed Mrs X's council tax account after it was notified that a new tenant had moved into Property A. The Council wrote to Mrs X to inform her it had closed her account and that no monies were owed.
Mrs X emailed the Council shortly after to query the letter it had sent her. The Council did not respond to this email.
In April 2019, the Council wrote to the letting agent to request information on the owners and tenants who were occupying the properties.
In May 2019, Mrs X contacted the Council to inform it she was having difficult applying for a student exemption. The Council informed Mrs X that her account had been closed since September 2018 after it was notified that someone had moved into Property A.
The Council asked Mrs X to confirm in writing that she lived at Property A, and for a copy of her student certificate. Mrs X followed up on the same day that she lived at Property A and provided the Council with her student certificate. Mrs X's student certificate confirmed her student status for the period April 2019 to April 2020.
Later in May 2019, the Council wrote again to the letting agent to advise that it would be sending an officer to conduct a visit to verify how many flats there were at the location.
The Council attempted to process Mrs X student exemption application in June 2019, but it could not do so because her council tax account had been closed on September 2018. The Council sent Mrs X a Change of Address form so it could verify she lived at Property A. The Council says the Change of Address was not returned to it.
Later in June 2019, the Council wrote to Mrs X's landlord requesting information about the tenant who occupied Property A so it could determine the liability of council tax.
The Council conducted a visit to the location of the properties in May, June and August 2020 so it could determine how many flats there were.
In August 2020, the letting agent wrote to the Council to confirm ownership and occupation of some of the properties. The letting agent advised the Council that some of the records had been confused between the properties.
In June 2021, the Council issued a new Change of Address form to Mrs X. The Council says the Change of Address form was not returned to it.
In January 2022, the Council reopened Mrs X council tax account from September 2018. When the Council reopened the account, it applied a student exemption from August 2018 to April 2020 and a single person discount from April 2020 onwards. The Council issued tax bills for the years 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022.
Mrs X complained to the Council in January 2022 about its handling of her account. The Council in response to Mrs X's complaint, advised her to make a claim for CTS and DCTHS.
In February 2022, the Council agreed a repayment plan with Mrs X to pay back the backdated arrears. Mrs X began making repayments.
It is not clear when Mrs X made a claim for DCTHS, but the Council wrote to Mrs X in May 2022 to advise her that it would not currently make an award for DCTHS as Mrs X did not have a live claim for CTS, a requirement under the scheme. The Council invited Mrs X to submit an application for CTS.
Mrs X did not submit an application for CTS. Later in May 2022, Mrs X informed the Council that its process required her to submit 3 months of evidence which she felt was not relevant to the reason she was claiming.
In July 2022, the Council requested information from Mrs X relating to her income, savings and outgoings so it could consider whether to make an award for DCTHS. The Council says Mrs has yet to provide it with the information it requested.
Analysis The closure of Mrs X’s council tax account The Council were notified that a new tenant had moved into Property A, where Mrs X lived. The Council's decision to close Mrs X's account was substantiated because it assumed, given the information it had received, that Mrs X no longer lived at the address. I have therefore not made a finding of fault in the Council's decision to close Mrs X council tax account.
The reopening of Mrs X’s council tax account After the Council wrote to Mrs X in September 2018, she queried whether it had closed her council tax account in error. The Council acknowledges that it did not respond to this email. At this point, the Council had an opportunity to begin making enquiries to determine liability at Property A which it did not do.
The Council did not begin making enquiries until April 2019 when it contacted the letting agent to request information on the owners and tenants who were occupying the properties. This represents a 7-month delay of inaction by the Council before it began taking steps to determine liability at Property A.
After Mrs X wrote to the Council in May 2019, it asked her to confirm in writing that she lived at Property A. Mrs X wrote to the Council to confirm she lived at Property A, but the Council did not act on this information.
The Council says Mrs X did not return the Change of Address form to it but had Mrs X done so, this is unlikely to have made a difference. Mrs X had already provided written confirmation that she lived at Property A, and the Council still held conflicting information about how many flats existed at the location, and who occupied which property.
Matters did not again progress until August 2020 when the letting agent wrote to the Council to confirm there had been some confusion in the information provided about the properties. Following this, from the evidence available to me, there appears to be another period of inaction by the Council for 11 months to July 2021.
In July 2021, the Council sent Mrs X a new Change of Address form which it says Mrs X did not return. As stated in paragraph 38, I cannot see that this would have made a difference, as Mrs X had already provided written confirmation that she lived at the address.
The Council did not reopen Mrs X's council tax account until January 2022, three years and four months after Mrs X queried whether it had closed her account in error, and two years and eight months after Mrs X provided written confirmation that she lived at Property A. Despite the Council making enquiries to determine liability at Property A, this is a significant amount of time for the Council to resolve the matter and reopen Mrs X's council tax account, and here I have made a finding of fault.
Did the Council’s actions cause Mrs X an injustice?
The Council informed Mrs X that it can only backdate CTS for up to six months at the point of application. The Council says the ability to pay the arrears is based on Mrs X's ability to pay the arrears now, not her ability to pay then but I have not found anything in the guidance or legislation to support this position.
Mrs X was not working during the period her account was closed and had the Council reopened Mrs X council tax account sooner, she would have been able to apply for CTS. Had Mrs X submitted an application for CTS in January 2022, she would have only been eligible for CTS for the six month period leading up to January 2022, and not the remaining period that her account was closed.
Following my finding of fault in the time it took the Council to reopen Mrs X's council tax account, it is not fair that Mrs X be limited to six months of backdated CTS should she be eligible. Further, it is not fair that Mrs X should have to apply for DCTHS to provide relief for the backdated council tax bill that the Council are responsible for.
If not for the Council's fault when it failed to reopen Mrs X's council tax account after September 2018, Mrs X would have been able to apply for CTS.
Agreed action
To resolve matters, the Council has agreed to: Write off the Council Tax arrears for the period 10 April 2021 to 31 December 2021, which amounts to £1,600.93, and issue a new demand notice.
The Council will carry out action a within one month of the Ombudsman's final decision.
Final decision
I have concluded my investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. Although the Council's decision to close Mrs X's account was substantiated, it took a significantly long time to reopen it, which caused an injustice to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman