The Balmoral Alliance Party Councillor said: “I am appalled that such punitive measures are even being contemplated by the government.
“Intrusive inspectors and massive fines are creating a big brother style system where government believes it can barge into people’s homes whenever it likes.
“This move is a gross infringement on people’s privacy and must be prevented immediately.
“Are Direct Rule Ministers setting out to deliberately scare people? This issue emphasises the fact that we need the Assembly up and running, and we need rid of the scaremongering Direct Rule Ministers.
“I understand that currently government needs to assess property values; however this type of action is draconian.
“Using the Alliance solution to the rates crisis we would prevent this intrusive scheme, because we would scrap rates hikes and replace them with a fair income tax. This would be based on people’s ability to pay, not the value of the property.”
ENDS