A SILSDEN couple say they have been heavily penalised for their efforts to bring an empty and previously rundown property onto the housing market.

Mr and Mrs Chris and Charlotte Chapman say they are having to pay hefty council tax bills for the two-bedroom house in St John's Street, which they bought two years ago.

Mr Chapman, 57, who worked as a council officer before he was made redundant, said he and his wife expect to have spent £11,000 to £12,000 on the house by the time they finish the refurbishments.

They bought the house with the intention of selling it or renting it out.

However, they say that despite the house being empty and using no council services they have not been eligible for a council tax discount on the property over the last two years.

This is despite the fact that homes occupied by a single adult are eligible for a 25 per cent discount.

Mr Chapman, of Middleway, Silsden, said when he contacted Bradford Council to query this he was hit by a further "bombshell".

"I was told that because the house had been empty for just over two years, we'd now have to pay an extra 50 per cent council tax," he said.

"I couldn't believe it. This now means we're paying £1,409 a year for this empty two-bedroom cottage which isn't even using any council services.

"We're not getting anything back for the money we're paying."

He said when he asked the council why they had not warned him about the surcharge he was told that it had sent him a letter of notification.

"But instead of sending it to where we actually live in Silsden, they'd sent it to our empty house," he added. "We never received the warning because this house's letterbox is sealed up – which is one of the conditions of our insurance cover."

He argued the amount of cash being demanded by the council would discourage people who might otherwise be prepared to bring rundown houses back into use.

A Bradford Council spokesman responded: “Following public consultation, Bradford Council in December 2012 decided to add a premium charge of 50 per cent to the Council Tax accounts of properties that have been empty for two years or more.

“The legislation that enables council’s to adopt this charge is based on the view that it would actually encourage owners to bring back into use long-term empty properties.

“Although individual circumstances vary, there is no discretion in how the charge is applied when a property has been empty for more than two years.

“National policy allows a 25 per cent discount on a property occupied by a single adult over the age of 18, but there is no similar discount applicable to empty properties.

"We recognise that Mr and Mrs Chapman did not fully appreciate the tax liability on their second property, but the council did take all reasonable steps in sending out the advance notification."