Charlotte and Andrew Spenceley do not want to sell the land they bought for a new family home, but a health crisis means they have to, and they will have to pay tax on the capital gains they make because of it.

In these situations, if the homeowner isn’t looking to profit the outcome could seem to be quite harsh.

The bright-line test, which was introduced by the National Government in 2015 but extended by the Labour Government to require properties to be held first for five years and then 10 years, was intended to tax capital gains on investment properties.