UK SRT Accommodation Tie: When a Place to Stay Can Affect Your Day Count

Checked against HMRC and GOV.UK sources on July 24, 2026.

Under the UK Statutory Residence Test, a place to stay in the UK can matter even if it is not your main home.

HMRC says the accommodation tie can apply when UK accommodation is available for a continuous period of 91 days or more in the tax year and you spend at least one night there. HMRC also has a close-relative-home version that uses 16 or more nights during the year.

Short answer: do not track only arrival and departure dates. Track UK nights, where you stayed, and when accommodation was available.

Jetseen helps you track days. Always consult a qualified tax, legal, or immigration professional for advice specific to your situation.

What is the UK SRT accommodation tie?

The Statutory Residence Test uses automatic tests first. If those do not settle the result, HMRC's sufficient ties test can look at your UK days and UK connections.

Accommodation is one possible tie.

HMRC's Residence and FIG Manual RFIG20550 says the accommodation tie can apply when both of these facts are present:

Accommodation-tie question	HMRC-backed threshold
Was UK accommodation available?	Available for a continuous period of 91 days or more in the tax year
Did you use it?	At least one night spent there in the tax year

That means the record is more than "Did I own or rent a UK place?" It is also "Was a place available, for how long, and did I stay there?"

Does accommodation automatically make you UK tax resident?

No.

The accommodation tie is one possible tie inside the wider SRT analysis. It does not automatically make you UK tax resident.

RDR3 says the SRT considers time spent in the UK plus connections, or ties. Under the sufficient ties test, more UK ties can mean fewer UK days before UK residence can arise. The result depends on the full SRT file.

So the practical question is not:

• "Do I have somewhere to sleep in the UK?"

It is:

• Which UK tax year is being reviewed?
• How many UK days did you have in that 6 April to 5 April year?
• Did an automatic overseas or automatic UK test already settle the answer?
• Which UK ties may apply?
• Was UK accommodation available for the relevant continuous period?
• How many nights did you spend there?

A qualified tax professional needs the whole record, not one accommodation fact in isolation.

What does the 91-day availability rule mean?

HMRC's accommodation-tie manual uses a continuous period of 91 days or more.

The record you keep should show the availability window as well as the nights used.

Record	Why it matters
Start date	When the accommodation first became available
End date	When it stopped being available
Availability gaps	HMRC says gaps of fewer than 16 days count toward continuous availability
Nights stayed	At least one night can matter for non-close-relative accommodation
Tax year	UK residence is assessed on the 6 April to 5 April tax year

This can affect people who think of a UK place as "occasional" because they only sleep there a few times. The availability window may still need review.

What about a close relative's home?

HMRC also distinguishes a close-relative-home version of the accommodation tie.

For a close relative's home, HMRC says the relevant threshold is 16 or more nights during the year.

That means a family home needs its own night record. A few visits may be below the threshold. Repeated visits can accumulate.

Keep the record plain:

• date
• place stayed
• whether it was a close relative's home
• number of nights
• UK tax year
• supporting travel documents
• advisor notes, if any

Do not turn this into a self-diagnosis. The close-relative-home rule is still part of the wider SRT analysis.

What if accommodation availability has short gaps?

HMRC says gaps of fewer than 16 days count toward the continuous accommodation availability period.

That is why a simple "lease active or not active" view may miss the issue. A place can become unavailable briefly and still remain part of the continuous-period review if the gap is short enough under HMRC's rule.

Track the details:

Scenario	What to record
Rental or hotel arrangement	Booking dates, cancellation dates, and nights used
Owned UK property	When it was available to you and when it was not
Spare room or family home	Nights stayed and relationship context for advisor review
Temporary unavailability	Exact gap dates and reason

Exact dates are more useful than labels like "mostly abroad" or "only visiting."

Why day counting alone can be incomplete

UK residence often starts with days, but SRT ties can change how those days are read.

Two people can spend the same number of UK days and have different risk profiles if one has more UK ties. The accommodation tie is one of the facts that can change that sufficient-ties picture.

If you have UK access through a flat, family home, spare room, long booking, or recurring stay arrangement, keep both records:

Record type	Example
Presence record	UK entry and exit dates
Accommodation record	Where you could stay, when it was available, and how many nights you used it

That does not answer the tax question by itself. It makes the tax review less dependent on memory.

Where Jetseen fits

Jetseen includes UK tax-year / SRT-style tracking as one of its 13 rule types. It helps users keep day records, notes, alerts, documents, custom trackers, and CSV exports in one place.

A practical UK accommodation-tie setup:

• track UK days against the 6 April to 5 April tax year
• add notes for UK accommodation availability windows
• tag nights spent at a close relative's home
• keep documents beside close-margin trips
• use custom notes for advisor questions about SRT ties
• export CSV records for professional review

Jetseen does not determine UK tax residence, decide whether the accommodation tie applies to your facts, replace HMRC guidance, or replace professional advice.

If UK accommodation is part of your travel year, Try Jetseen Free for 14 Days and keep the accommodation record next to the day count.

Jetseen helps you track days. Always consult a qualified tax, legal, or immigration professional for advice specific to your situation.

Related guides

• UK Statutory Residence Test
• UK SRT Work Tie: Why 3-Hour UK Workdays Matter
• Do UK transit days count for the Statutory Residence Test?

Sources

• HMRC Residence and FIG manual: Accommodation tie
• HMRC: RDR3 Statutory Residence Test guidance
• GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income: residence