At the time, the double tax would only kick in after two years. But Ms Bunyan found herself paying the premium after a matter of months because the property had been left unoccupied by its previous owners.
She said: “We were charged a higher rate than had we been living there. It was in such a state of disrepair – we had to do damp work on it and put in new bathrooms and a new kitchen. The garden was a jungle.
“Even without Covid it probably would have taken nine months. You couldn’t have put a tenant in there, it was so poorly kept. The housing association decided it would cost them too much to refurb it themselves.”
Scores of Telegraph readers have written to this newspaper claiming that councils have refused to waive the charge for houses that have been renovated and then sold.
Robert Salter, of Blick Rothenberg, a tax advisory firm, warned that many more homeowners would be caught out by the tax, despite not being the intended targets.
He said: “Councils are under real financial pressure. They don’t have to charge these premiums but if they can use it they will overwhelmingly look to do it.
“I do genuinely think with the state of the housing market a lot of people will be caught by this. It can often take 12 to 18 months to sell a property if, for example, you are trying to sell a house after a relative dies.”
Lucy George, 62, cares full-time for her husband, who is disabled. As a result, she pays 50pc council tax in her home local authority.
But when the couple inherited a property last year, they became liable for some £3,000 in council tax to Leeds City Council – despite putting it on the market immediately.
Fortunately the house was sold in May, so Ms George, who spoke using a pseudonym, only paid one month’s worth of extra tax.
She said: “Had the sale fallen through again and we had put the house back on the market we’d have had to find an extra £300 a month. It would have broken us financially.
“Leeds City Council were totally inflexible. We pay 50pc on our own property, so they should have considered it a write-off.
“The council said it would be discretionary and we would have to prove financial hardship, which we can’t really argue if we’re benefitting from the sale of the house.”