RDRM13050 - Residence: The SRT: Annex A: The principles and characteristics of a home for the purposes of the SRT

A home can be a building, or part of a building, a vehicle, vessel or structure of any kind which is used as a home by an individual. It will be somewhere which an individual uses with a sufficient degree of permanence or stability to count as a home.

Example 1

Jim lives in a mobile home with his wife. They travel extensively throughout the UK to wherever Jim can find work. They keep their personal belongings in the mobile home, take most of their meals there, and with the exception of their annual holiday abroad, sleep in it every night. It is where Jim and his wife spend most of their time when Jim is not working. It is their home.

Example 2

Mary comes back to the UK to take up employment after spending 3 years studying abroad. She has given up the tenancy on the flat she occupied abroad and moves into her parent’s house. Her parent’s house is her home.

A home will remain an individual’s home until such time as it stops being used as such by them.

Example 3

William has business interest in both Switzerland and the UK. He flies to Switzerland each Monday returning to the UK every Thursday. In Switzerland he lives in a rented flat. When in the UK he lives with his family at the family home, which he has owned for many years. In this situation both properties are his homes.

William subsequently decides he does not need to spend so much time in Switzerland, and starts to travel there less frequently. He sub-lets his flat in Switzerland retaining no rights to use it, choosing instead to stay in whatever hotel can accommodate him. He now only has 1 home, which is in the UK.

A place can still be a home even if an individual does not stay there continuously. If, for example, they move out temporarily but their spouse and children continue to live there, then it is likely to be their home.

Example 4

Elizabeth is seconded to New York for 2 months by her UK employer. She stays at a hotel when she is there. Prior to her secondment she lived with her husband in their home in London. Her husband continues to live and work in the UK. When Elizabeth returns to the UK after her secondment she returns to live with her husband in their London home. The London house was Elizabeth’s home throughout the period of her secondment.

If an individual has a home (either in the UK or overseas), and their family do not visit, as they live in another of the individual’s homes, this will not mean, when taken in isolation, that the home cannot be the individual’s home.

If an individual moves out of their home temporarily it may still remain their home.

Example 5

Asif has lived and worked in the UK for many years, occupying the same apartment in Liverpool since the day he arrived here. Asif’s father lives in Sweden and is seriously ill. Ten months ago Asif decided to take a career break to care for his father and moved to Sweden. He does not know how long he will be out of the UK.

Since moving to Sweden Asif has not returned to Liverpool, but his apartment remains empty and available for him to return to whenever he wants. In this situation Asif will have a home both in Liverpool and Sweden, even though he is spending all of his time in Sweden.

A place that is used as a home will remain a home even if it is temporarily unavailable, for example, because of damage or renovation work.

Example 6

Rachel and Tom’s kitchen and dining room have suffered flood damage. The estimated clean-up and repair operation will take 6 weeks, so they stay with Rachel’s parents while the work is being done. The property will remain their home even though Rachel and Tom are unable to stay there for the time being.

An individual’s home starts to be their home as soon as:

• it is capable of being used as their home, for example, individual has taken ownership of it, even if it is temporarily unavailable because of renovation
• they actually use it as their home

If the first point above is satisfied, but in fact the individual never actually uses it as their home, then it will not be the individual’s home.

Example 7

Aneta moved from Poland to the UK and she completed the purchase of her new house on 1 June. Whilst it was empty she stayed with friends, until her belongings arrived. These were moved in by the removal firm on 15 June.

Aneta stayed in her new home overnight that night. However, as she had arranged to have some extensive refurbishment done to her bathrooms and kitchen, she stayed in a local hotel and with friends while the main works were carried out. She moved into her home on a permanent basis on 15 July.

For SRT purposes HMRC would consider that the house became Aneta’s home from 15 July.

The key points are that:

• a place must be capable of being used as s home, even if it is temporarily unavailable
• an individual must actually use it as a home.