Home owners in the Netherlands will pay an average rise in local council taxes of 1.8% next year, the fifth year in a row that property taxes have risen more than the agreed limit.

The figure for the ozb tax in 2016 comes from home owners’ lobby group VEH and is based on research in 107 of the 393 Dutch local authority areas.

Every year the government sets a ceiling on local tax increases to prevent local authorities using the tax to build up their reserves. This year the government said next year’s tax should rise by no more than 1.57%.

However, the ceiling is advisory only and ‘does nothing to stimulate councils to keep taxes at a reasonable level’, the VEH said in a statement. ‘And there are no sanctions if councils break the limit, even if the rise is considerable.’

The Brabant local authority of Laarbeck is the biggest offender, with a rise of 13%, adding an average €30 to home owners’ taxes, the VEH said. Weert and Amersfoort also have double digit rises booked in.

Onroerendezaakbelasting (property tax) is levied by local councils on all residential premises and is paid by the owners rather than users of a property. The amount is based on the value of the property and the money raised accounts for some 8% of local authority spending.