Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) was aggrieved that South Lanarkshire Council (the Council) unreasonably awarded her tenant (the tenant) empty property relief for the property she owned after she had been awarded it, and while he was continuing to use the premises for storage purposes. She complained that she was not notified that she was no longer entitled to the three month exemption period or that the tenant had been awarded the relief. She further complained that the Council were pursuing her for monies she did not owe.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the Council unreasonably awarded empty property relief to the tenant after Mrs C had already been awarded it (not upheld);
- (b) the Council's decision to award empty property relief to the tenant was wrong because he was using the premises for storage purposes and they were not empty (partially upheld to the extent that the Council did not make more reasonable enquiries beforehand to inform their decision making process on how to classify a property as 'empty');
- (c) the Council incorrectly interpreted The Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 (the Regulations) to mean 'non-trading' (partially upheld to the extent that the Council did not make more reasonable enquiries beforehand to inform their decision making process on how to classify a property as 'unoccupied');
- (d) the Council failed to notify Mrs C that the tenant had been awarded the relief (upheld);
- (e) the Council's application form is misleading as it refers to 'empty property' rather than 'unoccupied' and does not warn applicants that they may lose the exemption if someone with a prior interest in the property makes a successful application at a later date (upheld); and
- (f) the Council wrongly continued to pursue Mrs C for the £343.51 they alleged she owed (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) take the issue of non-domestic rates for discussion to the Scottish Association of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) before making any changes to their current procedures;
- (ii) should conduct a full review of their policies and procedures on this matter, following discussion with the IRRV, and provide clear guidance notes for staff to ensure that customers are kept informed of any changes to awards already made; and
- (iii) amend their application form to explain the definition of unoccupied property relief and include appropriate caveats/warnings. Rating notices should similarly be reworded to avoid confusion.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly. I am pleased to note that, before the report was published, the Council accepted my recommendation that they write off the £343.51 Mrs C owed. This was in recognition of the fact that they intend to review their practices and procedures on non-domestic rates in light of this complaint, and in recognition of the poor customer service Mrs C received.