The group reminded people that enforcement action can be taken
TV Licensing has spoken out to clarify the rules around when you need a TV licence. The update comes after a little-known element of the legislation around TV licences came to light.
You need to buy a £180 TV licence if you want to watch any live TV, including online streaming services. This includes watching BBC programmes and content on iPlayer, as well as other channels such as Sky and Amazon. But the law also states that you must not install a “television receiver” unless installing it is “authorised by a licence”. This suggests that you need a licence just to have TV set even if you don’t watch live TV.
YouTuber and former financial professional Daniel ShenSmith recently spoke about this stipulation of the law on his channel. He claimed that it is a “myth” that you need a TV licence just to have a TV which is capable of receiving television channels.
‘Not quite true’
He explained: “I say it’s a myth because it’s not quite true. It was originally drafted and designed to close a loophole back in the early 1900s, whereby television obviously had to be received by an aerial.” Of course, nowadays you may have TV set to watch programmes or play video games even if you don’t watch live TV and therefore you don’t necessarily need a TV licence.
He said that previously, people would try and get around buying a TV licence, by saying that TV licensing couldn’t prove they were watching TV, even though they had an aerial. So the law was put on the books to make it illegal to even have an aerial.
On the question of why the law is still in force, Mr ShenSmith said that he had done some research, and concluded it was “pretty much for old time’s sake” and just to “keep the legislation consistent with previous legislation, and they’ve just kept it the same”.
He added: “To my knowledge and research, no one has ever been successfully prosecuted for the offence of installing a TV apparatus for the purpose of watching or recording live TV without a TV licence.” TV Licensing was asked to clarify the rules and if anyone has ever been prosecuted for such an offence.
TV Licensing statement
A TV Licensing spokesperson said: “There is no loophole. Where the evidence supports it, enforcement action can be taken under the existing law.
“Our primary objective is to support people to stay correctly licensed, and prosecution is always a last resort.” The group said that data on TV licence prosecutions is held by the Ministry of Justice.
