London Borough of Sutton

The Council acted in line with government guidance when it included Mrs Y’s property in her financial assessment and so it was not at fault. As there was a dispute about the value of Mrs Y’s share in the property, the Council should have got an independent valuation because guidance required it to. The failure to obtain an independent valuation was fault which caused uncertainty about the outcome of the Council’s financial assessment. The Council will apologise, arrange an independent valuation by the District Valuer Service and review the financial assessment once the valuation is available.