The government's confirmed a review of the property tax will take place before the next election.

A spokesman says the government wants to make sure the tax "remains affordable" - by delaying a possible increase in the tax in two years time.

The value of the property tax is linked directly to the value of the property itself.

But while house prices are up by around 16% in the last year, the property tax has been frozen - and is meant to stay at its current levels until the end of 2016.

Based on current rates, houses could then be worth around 70% more than they were when the tax first kicked in and that would mean the tax would be 70 per cent higher too.

But it's now been confirmed that the tax will be reviewed well ahead of the next election so that it remains "affordable" for households.

A spokesman said the government was "acutely aware" of how rising property prices would mean a huge hike in the tax that most people would pay.

The news comes a full two years before the increase would have kicked in - and it's likely to lead to further speculation that an election isn't far away.