People can only check information by providing a detailed location of the property or its ownership number. The rule follows a similar one in eastern Jiangsu Province's Yancheng, introduced recently after "the leaking of personal household information sparked concern among some residents over the safety of their personal information."

In Guangzhou, household information rules were also strengthened last month.

Inquirers who were previously required to provide locations of properties are now being asked to provide a series of certificates including those related to the property's ownership and its registered number, the newspaper said.

The new rules have stirred controversy with many people believing they are in place to protect corrupt officials and prevent details of their properties being made public.

Zhang Xiuting, an official with an anti-corruption bureau in Mudanjiang, a city in northeast China, was said to have owned 17 properties.

The whistleblower told the newspaper that the information was gleaned via the household information inquiry system with the help of some "insiders."

A post on weibo.com that had been forwarded more than 2,300 times by yesterday said: "So who would fear the leak of household information? Only those corrupt officials who illegally purchase the properties.

"In the wake of the 'house sister' scandals, the rules are actually protecting the corrupt officials in the name of protecting personal information."

Guangzhou officials said that in the case of Li Yunqing, dubbed the "house auntie" and said to own 24 properties worth 15 million yuan (US$2.4 million), she had bought the properties with legal income and money left by her father. Li's household information had been illegally acquired, they said.