EIM11406 - Living accommodation: meaning of provided: practical considerations

For details of the relevance of the word “provided” in living accommodation cases see EIM11405. In deciding in a particular case whether provided means available for use, or means actually used, the following questions should be asked.

• Who can use the living accommodation? We accept that if living accommodation is genuinely available for use by more people than could actually use it at any one time then provided only means the periods actually used. For example if five unrelated employees were allowed to use an employer owned two bedroom holiday villa we would only seek a provided living accommodation charge on each employee for the period in which that employee actually used the villa.
• Why was the living accommodation bought or rented and how has it been used since acquisition? If the living accommodation was bought as holiday accommodation for a director and family, provided is likely to mean available for use. By contrast if it was bought as a genuine letting business by the employer and has been let out commercially then provided will only mean the periods of actual use by the employee.

For examples illustrating these points see example EIM11421 onwards.