"Available accommodation": the vaguest trap in the SRT — and how to document your way out of it

What HMRC actually defines — and what it leaves to you

HMRC does define it — accommodation is "available" if you're able to use it, for a continuous period of at least 91 days; a one-off social invitation doesn't count; and a close relative's home only counts if you spend 16+ nights there in the tax year. But "able to use it" turns entirely on the facts of your life — and the burden of showing a place wasn't available to you falls on you.

The honest questions that open the grey zone

Ask the honest questions and the grey zone opens up immediately:

• You stay at your dad's house when you're in the UK. You don't own it. Is it "available to you" all year — or only when he says you can come? Who decides?
• You've stayed at a cousin's place a few times. Does "we've stayed there" mean it was "available" for 91 days?
• You book Airbnbs. Is a place you paid for a "base"? Is a place you didn't a non-base?

HMRC gives thresholds (91 days' availability; a close relative's home only counting at 16+ nights), but whether you were "able to use" a place is a judgement on your specific facts. And when it comes down to a judgement, the person holding the dated records wins the argument.

Fight vagueness with proof

So you fight vagueness with proof:

• Log your nights. If you can show you spent, say, 9 nights at a relative's place this tax year, "available for 91 consecutive days" is a much harder claim for anyone to make against you.
• Get the non-availability in writing where you can — a message from a relative confirming the place isn't kept available to you year-round.
• Prove your real base elsewhere. If your genuine home is abroad (mine's in Switzerland), document the time you actually spend there.

You can't make HMRC's wording clearer. You can make yourself the person holding the clear, dated evidence. This is one tie of several — see how it fits the whole picture in the pillar guide, Am I a UK tax resident?, and work out how many nights you can actually afford: How many days can you spend in the UK →

Educational, not tax advice — for a real determination, take your documented picture to a qualified adviser.

Sources

• HMRC — RDR3 Statutory Residence Test guidance (gov.uk)

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