Some residents in the south could see a tenfold increase in their domestic rates under a proposed system.

That’s according to Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse.

Tynwald members last month voted to approve a report on rates modernisation, which proposes that rates are based on area.

Aerial photography would be used to determine the external size of each property.

Mr Moorhouse, who voted against the report, said: ’There is the realistic possibility those paying the lowest rates today could be paying the highest in five years’ time.

’I would suggest a tenfold increase will be faced by some of the constituents in Arbory, Castletown and Malew.’

He acknowledged that the current system of calculating rates has ’many shortcomings’ and said that reform was ’long overdue’.

But he said: ’We are in danger of replacing the current system with something no better.’

He added: ’It will cost over £2 million to introduce a rating system, based on the occupied area of a house and give the government ownership of even more of our data.

’It will not increase fairness; it will simply shift unfairness. The proposed system has no link with local service usage.’

He said that there would be a number of ’losers’ under the proposed system.

People living in social housing could see a ’massive’ hike, he said.

Mr Moorhouse is concerned that large houses in the centre of towns and villages will become a ’less attractive option’ to potential purchasers as currently many have a low rateable value.

’I am genuinely concerned about the impact of this,’ he said.

Potential housebuyers also face uncertainty, he said.

’The current data enables people buying property to consider rateable value when making their selections.

’People wanting this certainty will potentially have to wait five years to see the new data and the impact of the changes.’

Other ’losers’ under the proposals would be disabled people who require large corridors and spaces to allow better movement around their home, as well as people living in larger properties because of necessity or historic factors.

Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas told Tynwald the idea was to bring ’fairness and consistency’ to the rates system.

He said £49m is collected ’inconsistently and unfairly’ from ratepayers to fund water, sewerage and local authorities.

Mr Thomas said the new system could, ’with a fair wind’, be in place in 2022 but a more likely target date was 2023. There would then be a five-year transition period.