Danish tax and growth minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt says homeowners who disagree with their property valuation should have the right to an independent “second opinion” from a third party.
The minister presented the idea at a press conference on Monday, September 7, DR reports. Homeowners who are dissatisfied with their ejendomsvurdering should be able to have an independent party assess whether the figure is accurate.
Engel-Schmidt, who represents the Moderates, said the move is a reaction to new errors found in Denmark’s digital property valuation system. Per DR, he described the issue as one of legal certainty, and said people should be able to have a real person state an opinion on their valuation.
The minister said he believes the time has come to use alternative measures to rebuild trust in the valuation system. He also acknowledged that both the new errors and previously discovered ones are wearing down confidence in the system.
No fixed model yet
How the arrangement would work in practice has not been decided. According to DR, Engel-Schmidt has so far only informed the forligskreds, the political parties behind the valuation agreement, of his intention.
A model that the parties can agree on still has to be found. The minister said he could imagine the second opinion being carried out by a real estate agent with knowledge of the local housing market.
As reported by TV 2, the model under consideration would let dissatisfied homeowners obtain an independent valuation from, for example, a local estate agent. According to TV 2’s information, the option is expected to apply only to upcoming property valuations.
Engel-Schmidt pointed to specific problem areas that have surfaced recently. These include the valuation of owner-occupied apartments and the assessment of land value for commercial properties located in multi-story buildings.
Vurderingsstyrelsen asked to investigate
The minister said he has asked Vurderingsstyrelsen, the Danish Property Assessment Agency, to investigate the matter thoroughly. The aim is for the forligskreds to be able to identify the right solutions to the problems.
He also said he does not see an alternative to the existing system at this point in time. Per DR, he stated that he wished there were a simple way out of the problems, but that there is none.
Property valuations form the basis for property taxes in Denmark, including for those looking at buying an apartment in Copenhagen. Errors in the system have been a recurring subject of political attention, including questions over who pays for rate errors.
No timeline has been set for when a second opinion scheme could take effect. The negotiations in the forligskreds have not yet produced an agreed model, according to DR’s reporting.
