"Available accommodation" and the SRT accommodation tie: what HMRC counts

The rule in one line

You have an accommodation tie for a tax year if all three are true:[1][5]

You have a place to live in the UK.
It’s available to you for a continuous period of at least 91 days in that tax year.
You spend at least 1 night there in that tax year.

If the place is a close relative’s home, step 3 becomes 16 nights or more, not 1.[1][5]

The accommodation tie is one of the UK ties in the sufficient ties test. That test only matters if none of the automatic tests settle your year.[6]

What “available” means

HMRC says a place is available for 91 days if you’re able to use it, or it’s at your disposal, at all times in that period.[3] A few points from HMRC’s guidance:

You don’t have to own it. HMRC says ownership, the type of tenancy, or a legal right to live there “makes no difference”.[3] The law says the same.[5]
Short gaps don’t break the 91 days. A gap of fewer than 16 days between periods when a place is available is ignored.[1][3]
It can be almost any kind of place. A building, a vehicle, a boat or other structure you can live in. A holiday home, a temporary retreat, or a flat your employer provides.[3]
Using it a little still counts. If a place is available for 91 days and you stay there now and then, HMRC says it’s a tie. For a close relative’s home you still need 16 nights.[3]
A casual offer doesn’t count. A relative making their home available “casually, for a social visit” doesn’t make it available. Nor does a friend’s casual “stay in my spare room any time”. It only counts if they really would put you up for 91 days at a time.[3]
Two places still make one tie. If two UK places count, you still have only 1 accommodation tie.[3]

HMRC says whether a place is a tie “will always be dependent on the facts”. It also says it “may choose to enquire into those facts”.[3]

Family homes: the 1-night and 16-night rules

Whose place	Nights you need there in the tax year (if it’s available for 91 days)
A parent, grandparent, brother or sister, or a child or grandchild aged 18 or over	16 or more[1][5]
Your spouse, civil partner or partner, or your child under 18	1 or more[3]
Anyone else (a cousin, uncle, friend), or a place of your own	1 or more[1][5]

Close relatives include half-blood relatives and relatives by marriage or civil partnership. Adopted children count as your children.[1]

Two of HMRC’s examples show how this works:

Peter’s cousin agreed he could stay any time, and she’d put him up for several months if needed. He made 2 visits of 10 days and stayed with her. HMRC says he has an accommodation tie. A cousin isn’t a close relative, so 1 night is enough.[2]
Ravi’s grandparents would put him up for more than 91 days. One year he stayed with them for only 14 days, then spent 2 months with his uncle. HMRC says he had no accommodation tie that year. Grandparents are close relatives, so he needed 16 nights.[3]

A spouse, partner or child under 18 in the UK can also give you a family tie. That’s a separate tie: see The SRT family tie.

Hotels, Airbnbs and let property

Hotels and guesthouses. HMRC says short stays “will not usually” be a tie. But booking a room in the same hotel or guesthouse for at least 91 days in a row will give you a tie, if you don’t cancel. Short gaps can be ignored.[4] HMRC’s example is a manager who books the same hotel for the first 3 weeks of June, July, August and September. He has a tie.[3]
A one-off invitation. HMRC’s example: a business contact invites Sacha to stay 3 nights for Wimbledon. That’s a one-off, the flat isn’t available for 91 days, so it isn’t a tie.[3]
Airbnbs and other short lets. HMRC doesn’t say. Its accommodation tie pages don’t name Airbnb or short lets. Take a booking like this to an adviser if it’s the same place again and again.
A UK home you’ve let out. If you’ve let it out commercially in full, HMRC says it isn’t available to you. That changes if you kept the right to use it, or part of it.[4]
A place you never stay in. If it’s available but you spend no nights there in the tax year, it isn’t a tie.[4]

How many ties you need

The ties you need depend on your UK days. They also depend on whether you were UK resident in any of the 3 previous tax years.[6][7]

UK days in the tax year	Ties needed (resident in 1 or more of the last 3 years)	Ties needed (resident in none of them)
16 to 45	At least 4	Not needed: the 46-day test makes you non-resident
46 to 90	At least 3	All 4
91 to 120	At least 2	At least 3
Over 120	At least 1	At least 2

Under 16 days, you’re non-resident whatever your past (see the 16-day and 46-day rules). This table only applies if no automatic test settles your year. For the full order of tests, see Am I a UK tax resident?.

Records that help

HMRC’s records list includes these, for homes and other places you can stay:[8]

when you were at your home or other available accommodation
how long you owned or rented a home, such as when you bought, sold or leased it
when your home wasn’t available to you, for example because it was rented out

Keep two separate records:

Your nights. Note where you slept each night in the UK. Keep the booking email, e-ticket, or Airbnb, Booking.com or hotel confirmation.
When a place was or wasn’t available. A tenancy agreement, the dates a lease started and ended, or messages that set out when you could stay.

HMRC doesn’t say whether a letter from a relative saying their home isn’t kept for you would help. It’s worth keeping messages that show the real arrangement. That’s our advice, not HMRC’s.

Where to start

Work out your UK days first, then check each tie. Start with Am I a UK tax resident?, then run your year through the free walkthrough: How many days can you spend in the UK →

Not tax advice. For a real decision, take your records to a qualified adviser.

Frequently asked questions

What is the accommodation tie?

It’s one of the UK ties in the sufficient ties test. You have one if a UK place to live is available to you for 91 days in a row in the tax year. You also need to spend at least 1 night there.

Does staying with family count?

It can. A close relative’s home only counts if you spend 16 or more nights there in the tax year. Close relatives are parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and children or grandchildren aged 18 or over. The home also has to be available to you for 91 days. For other relatives, such as a cousin, 1 night can be enough.

Does an Airbnb or hotel count as available accommodation?

HMRC says short stays in hotels and guesthouses will not usually be a tie. But booking a room in the same hotel or guesthouse for at least 91 days in a row in a tax year will be. HMRC says short gaps may be ignored. HMRC doesn’t say anything about Airbnbs or short lets by name.

Does it count if I own the place?

You don’t have to own it. HMRC says ownership, the type of tenancy, or a legal right to live there makes no difference. What matters is whether the place is available to you for 91 days and whether you stay there.

Does a UK flat I’ve rented out count?

Not if you’ve let it out commercially in full and kept no right to use it. HMRC says it isn’t available to you then. If the tenancy lets you use it, or part of it, it can still count.

What records help with the accommodation tie?

Keep two separate records: the nights you stayed, and the dates a place was or wasn’t available to you. Booking emails, Airbnb and hotel confirmations, tenancy dates, messages and your calendar can all show dates.

Sources

Confirm your position with current HMRC guidance and a qualified adviser before acting.