The Accommodation Tie (SRT)

The "accommodation tie" is one of the five statutory connection pillars evaluated under the Sufficient Ties Test of the UK Statutory Residence Test (SRT). It gauges whether an individual has realistic, ongoing access to a place to live while visiting the UK.

Under the SRT architecture, the more connection ties you hold, the fewer days you are permitted to spend on UK soil at midnight before triggering automatic UK tax residency on your worldwide income.

The Core 91-Day Availability Threshold

You legally trigger an accommodation tie if you have a place to live inside the UK that is practically and continuously available to you for a period of at least 91 days within a single tax year.

The Key Characteristics of Availability:

• Ownership is Irrelevant: Legal ownership, tenancy agreements, or property deeds are completely ignored by HMRC. The test focuses purely on your right to occupy the space. The tie can be triggered by a property you own, a flat you rent, a corporate apartment funded by your employer, a holiday lodge, or a permanent mobile structure like a houseboat.
• The "One-Night" Trigger: For any standard property that you own, rent, or have direct continuous access to, you only need to spend at least one single night sleeping there during the tax year to fully activate the accommodation tie.

Strict Overhaul for Close Relative Accommodation

A common trap involves visiting family members. Under HMRC rules, if your available UK accommodation happens to be the private home of a close relative, the statutory parameters shift to prevent casual social visits from being penalized.

• HMRC's Definition of a Close Relative: Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and adult children or grandchildren aged 18 or over (including relationships established via half-blood, adoption, marriage, or civil partnerships).
• The 16-Night Protection Rule: If you stay at a close relative's home, the property will only register as an active accommodation tie if you spend a total of 16 or more nights sleeping there over the course of the tax year. If you stay for 15 nights or fewer, the tie count is mathematically zero, even if the spare bedroom is left completely empty and at your disposal for 365 days a year.

Calculating Continuity: The 16-Day Gap Rule

The 91 days of availability must be continuous. To stop individuals from using short, artificial booking breaks to intentionally fracture their timeline, HMRC applies a matching rule for continuity:

If there is a brief structural gap of fewer than 16 days between two periods of property availability, the gap period is completely ignored, and the two blocks are legally joined together. For example, if you lease a flat for 45 days, experience a 10-day gap where the lease lapses, and then re-lease the property for another 45 days, HMRC treats the property as continuously available to you for 100 days ($45 + 10 + 45$), successfully clearing the 91-day threshold.

Legal Definitions: "Accommodation" vs. "Home"

When self-assessing under the SRT, you must understand that HMRC views "Accommodation" and a "Home" as two completely distinct legal concepts.

• A Home: Requires a significant degree of structural permanence, stability, and personal attachment. It is the core concept checked under the Second Automatic UK Residence Test.
• Accommodation: A far broader umbrella term. It encompasses any building, temporary retreat, vehicle, or vessel suitable for human habitation. For instance, if you book a rolling 91-day block at a standard commercial hotel or extended-stay suite, that room does not constitute your "home," but it completely satisfies the criteria for an "accommodation tie" the second you spend your first night there.

Worked Examples: Commercial lets vs. Key Access

Example A: Retained Rights (Tie Active)

An expat living in Dubai owns a penthouse flat in London. They do not live there full-time, but they deliberately keep a set of keys, leave personal winter clothing in the wardrobes, and choose not to let it out on the open market. They return to the UK for a fortnight in the summer and sleep in the flat.

• The Assessment: Because the flat was completely empty and at their immediate disposal for more than 91 days, and they spent at least one night there, the accommodation tie is fully active.

Example B: Long-Term Tenancies (Tie Sheltered)

An investor owns a house in Manchester but lets it out to an independent family under a standard 12-month Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). The investor retains no legal right to enter the home or stay in a spare room while the tenants are paying rent.

• The Assessment: Because the investor has legally surrendered their right to occupy the property, the house is not "available" to them. It does not count as an accommodation tie during the active tenancy period.

Key Points to Remember

• The accommodation tie triggers if a property is available to you for 91 continuous days and you spend one night there.
• Staying with close relatives requires hitting a higher threshold of 16 or more nights before the tie activates.
• Minor availability gaps of fewer than 16 days are ignored and linked together when calculating the 91-day target.
• "Accommodation" is a wide concept including hotels and houseboats, differing from the strict definition of a permanent "home."
• Relinquishing legal access via a formal long-term commercial tenant lease successfully shields a property from counting as a tie.