Newham Council says a “significant backlog” of correspondence meant it failed to reply to the man’s letters informing the town hall that his tenants had moved out, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

Newham Town Hall in East Ham with 'Newham Town Hall' sign outside — Newham Town Hall

Newham Council has been told to pay a man £350 for causing him “avoidable distress and time and trouble” over council tax demands.

The council says a “significant backlog” of correspondence meant it failed to reply to his letters informing the town hall that his tenants had moved out.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the council should pay the man to “reflect the scale of the injustice” it had caused him.

The man – named in the ombudsman’s report as ‘Mr X’ – first emailed the council about council tax notices at his property in May 2023.

He said his tenants – who were students, so not liable for council tax – had received letters about an outstanding amount owed. However the council didn’t reply.

Mr X also emailed the council in October 2023 to tell the town hall his tenants had moved out, and new ones had moved in. The council didn’t reply to this either.

The council also did not reply to two emails Mr X sent in November 2023 about threatening council tax letters to his property, which were concerning his new tenants.

Neither did the council reply to emails Mr X sent in February and March 2024 informing it his new tenants had also moved out, and that the property was vacant.

Mr X only received a reply after making a formal complaint in November 2024. It apologised for not replying and informed him its council tax records had been updated.

However, there were further delays after Mr X attempted to escalate his complaint on 17th January 2025. The council did not respond until 24th April.

It acknowledged the delays and offered him £100 for his time and trouble.

The council explained to the ombudsman that it had a “significant backlog” of outstanding correspondence. However, the town hall explained it had hired a contractor to reduce the backlog and from 2025 has been answering correspondence within five working days.

The ombudsman said the council was at fault for its failures to reply to Mr X’s emails and its delay in handling his complaint.

It recommended that the council increase the amount of money it offered him to £350 “to acknowledge his distress and time and trouble”.

The ombudsman said: “In the circumstances of this complaint, I do not consider the sum previously offered by the council of £100 is sufficient.”

A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the backlog had built up during the coronavirus pandemic. They said they couldn’t say how much the council had paid the contractor to reduce the backlog as this is commercially sensitive information.

The spokesperson said: “During the Covid pandemic we took action to support residents financially, which included a temporary relaxation in payment deadlines and arrears enforcement.

“This caused a significant backlog in council tax correspondence. Due to this and the service returning to normal collection processes post-pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of residents contacting the council.”

They added: “The service has been working to make sure that there are the appropriate resources to meet the increased demand in correspondence to address the backlog and any future demand.

“We have provided additional resources to target the backlog, and are taking action to create clear targets and policies to allow for a more flexible approach to meet any future demand.”

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