When war broke out in Ukraine, Alison Bloxham felt she had to help.

At the time she had been selling a property, so she decided to take it off the market and offer it as a home for refugees instead. Since 2022, she has been hosting a Ukrainian family who have now made Britain their home.

But amid speculation of a capital gains tax (CGT) hike, she worries that Labour’s Budget will increase her tax bill because she took in refugees. Having become an accidental landlord when she took in the Ukrainian family, Bloxham could now be subject to more tax than if she had simply not bothered.

Having to pay a higher tax bill would hit her retirement hard, she adds. “Working out my future provisions feels difficult – it feels like every which way I look at it I could end up being penalised.”

Bloxham owned and ran a physiotherapy centre in Kendal, Cumbria, from 1995 until 2018, when she sold the business to a fellow therapist. He rented the building from her until 2021, then she put it on the market.

While it was for sale, Russia invaded Ukraine and war broke out. In March 2022, the Government launched the scheme allowing households to provide accommodation for refugees in return for money.

Bloxham found herself with a property that had kitchen and bathroom facilities sitting empty, so decided to convert it into a home for refugees fleeing the conflict.

The community of Kendal came together to help with the conversion, donating kitchen items, furniture and their time to make it a home. A generous donor installed a new kitchen and Bloxham invested £6,000 of her own money into the property, turning it into a residential dwelling. She planned to sell it once the Ukrainians had left, at a time when no one could guess how long the war would go on for.

She made contact with Liliia, who was desperate to get out of Odessa with her two young children – a son, four, and daughter, two – and her mother. Liliia’s husband was required to stay in Ukraine and continue working, but did not have to go to the front line.

The family arrived on July 4, 2022, and over the past two years have built a life in Kendal. “There was a lot of local support for the families and Liliia and her family are very appreciative,” says Bloxham.

She was paid £350 a month by the scheme for the first year, increasing to £450 in the winter to cover additional heating costs. She was paying for Liliia’s bills and the government payout only just stretched far enough. The payments increased to £500 for the second year, at which point Liliia started to pay for bills from her wages working as a bookkeeper.

Bloxham had originally planned to take early retirement, living off the money from selling the property before she reached state pension age, allowing her to leave her private pension untouched for longer.

But the upcoming Budget may hit her retirement hard. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out aligning CGT rates with income tax in the Budget on October 30. CGT is currently charged on property at 18pc for basic rate taxpayers, and 24pc for higher or additional rate earners, but could rise significantly.

Any potential tax raid means she could earn less from the sale of the property than she would have got three years ago, had she not signed up to the Homes for Ukraine scheme. “If I had sold it three years ago, I’d be sitting pretty,” she says.

This would eat into her pension savings, she adds. “I’ve saved diligently for the past 40 years for funding my retirement so I wouldn’t be dependent on the state. It feels like a bit of a kick in the teeth.”

If she decided to sell, Liliia and her family would have to find another property, which would be difficult. The rental situation is limited in Kendal and the children are happily settled in school, now aged seven and four.

“I’m really concerned about what would happen to the family and they’re very anxious not to go back to Ukraine,” says Bloxham. “[Liliia’s] priority is keeping the children safe and not having to deal with the ramifications of air raids and bomb shelters.”

At the same time, there are also concerns around Labour targeting the tax-free lump sum, which is the 25pc of your pension pot you can withdraw without paying tax. If Reeves goes ahead with this, then Bloxham says she won’t be able to draw on her pension to compensate for not selling the building without a penalty.

“My partner suggested I write to the Chancellor and I may well do, explaining what I’ve done and how it has cost me,” she says.

Despite potentially losing out, Bloxham has no regrets at all. She has formed a close bond with the family – and considers herself to be “very privileged to be in this position at all”.

She adds: “It was and is the right thing to do. Liliia is very appreciative and looks after the house beautifully. It’s been a very heartwarming experience in the way that the community has come together.”