Councils should clearly signpost right to challenge council tax bill through Valuation Tribunal: Ombudsman

The Ombudsman noted that householders who think their council tax bill is wrong may be entitled to challenge it through a free tribunal, but many are never told this option exists.

The Ombudsman warned that people can then lose the right to challenge the bill by the time they find out.

Last year, the Ombudsman received more than 1,600 complaints about council tax.

Many, it said, should never have needed to reach it at all, because the person involved had a “straightforward right” to take their case to the Valuation Tribunal, a free and independent service, rather than going through a council's own complaints process.

The Ombudsman said: “The problem is not being told by the council of the cost-free right of appeal to the tribunal and timing.

“Appeals to the tribunal come with strict deadlines, typically one to two months, and anyone who spends that time going through a council complaints process instead can lose their right to appeal altogether, even with a strong case.”

The Ombudsman noted that among its cases, one man's appeal window closed after his dispute was wrongly treated as a customer service complaint, and another was pursued through the courts, with bailiffs and threats of bankruptcy, without ever being told he could challenge the decision itself for free.

Meanwhile, a tenant who queried her bill found a bailiff at her door months later, still unaware she had a right to appeal.

The Ombudsman set out what individuals can challenge, and how long they have to do so:

• Liability (who has to pay): 2 months;
• Reduction decisions: 2 months;
• Penalty notices: 2 months;
• Completion notices: 1 month.

The tribunal doesn't require legal representation.

The Ombudsman urged councils to “signpost this right clearly, at the point a decision is made, rather than leaving people to find out too late”.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “If you think your council tax bill is wrong, you may have a free and independent way to challenge it, and you shouldn't have to find that out by accident, or too late to use it. Too many people come to us having lost that right simply because no one told them it existed. Councils should be telling people about their right to appeal at the point a decision is made, clearly and in writing, not leaving them to stumble across it on a website, or not find out at all. A single line in a letter can make all the difference."

Lottie Winson