The government is planning to toughen up the rules covering specialist bureaus which fight official property valuations on behalf of home owners.

Last week a number of mayors urged home owners not to bring in private bureaus to protest about high WOZ values because of the costs which councils have to pay if the valuations are found to be wrong.

Councils don’t have to pay the process costs, which are upwards of €600, if home owners protest about the valuation themselves.

Councils are currently sending out the new WOZ valuations, which are based on property prices at the beginning of last year, when house prices were at their height. On average, valuations – which are used to calculated local charges and asset tax – are up by 17%.

Tax minister Marnix van Rij is now planning to make it ‘more unattractive’ for private companies to protest about the valuations, broadcaster RTL reported at the weekend.

In the first place, the process costs which councils are liable for will be paid to the home owner not the commercial firm ‘which means the companies will have to involve the taxpayer more in the process’, a spokesman said.

In addition, process costs will also be lowered to reflect the actual work which is done, RTL said. More measures are not being ruled out.