The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council tax premium because it was withdrawn by the complainant.
The complaint
Ms X complains that the Council incorrectly applied a Council tax premium to her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), 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 says that the Council unreasonably applied a Council tax premium to her property which was in a state of disrepair. The property was subsequently removed from the Council tax listing by the Valuation Office Agency in February 2026 and backdated to March 2025. Ms X appealed successfully to the Valuation Tribunal against the Council’s decision not to exercise its discretion to waive the Council tax.
The Ombudsman cannot investigate a complaint which has been appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. Ms X has now withdrawn her complaint to this office.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she withdrew her complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman