The Student Room Group

Reue's TV Licensing FAQ

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Reply 240
Original post by SensiDub
Just received a letter telling me to expect a visit from 'enforcer', claiming they will apply for a warrant then inspect my property. I'm in student halls.

I don't watch or receive a live TV signal. However I bought an aerial and an adapter to watch freeview last month, but have unable to pick up a signal of any kind. Am I liable?


It's unlikely they'll have any sort of warrant - They'd need to have some sort of evidence first. Without a warrant you don't have to let them in. If they get to pushy tell them your being harrassed by them and if they don't leave you'll call the police.

If you don't watch live TV in any form then you don't need a License. Things like Freewire / TVCatchup / Live stuff on iPlayer all count as live TV though. (Watch later on iPlayer doesn't need a license however)
Original post by SensiDub
Just received a letter telling me to expect a visit from 'enforcer', claiming they will apply for a warrant then inspect my property. I'm in student halls.

I don't watch or receive a live TV signal. However I bought an aerial and an adapter to watch freeview last month, but have unable to pick up a signal of any kind. Am I liable?


Also if they actually do have a warrant, I suppose as long as the aerial/adapter is not plugged in, and is hidden by you, they'll be no evidence that you are watching live TV and you can say that you just use it for games. That's in the case of them having a warrant which is probably zero, because I'm pretty sure the hassle it would cause getting a warrant for every room in every one of your university halls wouldn't be worth the effort it would take.
Reply 242
I have no TV licence but a big TV in my room that is just sitting there doing nothing, I some times, rarely use it with xbox

Someone told me they might still fine me just for having TV, even though I don't have any aerial or live TV capabilities

I also brought a freeview box which also sits there doing nothing, there's no cable for signal in my room so can't do much with it

I'm not worried at all about it though tbh, just curious
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 243
Original post by Sheep
I have no TV licence but a big TV in my room that is just sitting there doing nothing, I some times, rarely use it with xbox

Someone told me they might still fine me just for having TV, even though I don't have any aerial or live TV capabilities

I also brought a freeview box which also sits there doing nothing, there's no cable for signal in my room so can't do much with it

I'm not worried at all about it though tbh, just curious


They have to prove that you are using it to watch live TV. You are not watching live TV and by the sounds of it don't have the capability of doing so. You have nothing to worry about at all.
Reply 244
Is it very hard for TV licensing people to prove you're watching live TV on a laptop?

I was planning on using Sky Go on my laptop when at university, I guess I need a license for this?
Reply 245
Original post by Harvey321
Is it very hard for TV licensing people to prove you're watching live TV on a laptop?


Almost impossible

Original post by Harvey321
I was planning on using Sky Go on my laptop when at university, I guess I need a license for this?


Yes, you will.
Original post by SensiDub
Just received a letter telling me to expect a visit from 'enforcer', claiming they will apply for a warrant then inspect my property. I'm in student halls.

I don't watch or receive a live TV signal. However I bought an aerial and an adapter to watch freeview last month, but have unable to pick up a signal of any kind. Am I liable?


YES. It's the equipment that they're after. They don't need to demonstrate use.
So if I move into halls which has 4-5 other people in the same flat, do we need to have one communal license or one each?
Reply 248
Original post by The Patriot
YES. It's the equipment that they're after. They don't need to demonstrate use.


The license is watching live TV not for owning the equipment. However if you have an indoor antenna or have the TV connected to an antenna socket you might have a hard job explaining that you don't use it for live tv.

Although to get the warrant they'll need some sort of evidence that you're using a TV without a license.

Original post by The Patriot
So if I move into halls which has 4-5 other people in the same flat, do we need to have one communal license or one each?


Depends a lot on where the TV is. If you have TV's in your own locked rooms then you should have a TV license each. If it's a single TV for the flat in a communual space then a single shared license is likely to be acceptable.
Original post by mfaxford
The license is watching live TV not for owning the equipment. However if you have an indoor antenna or have the TV connected to an antenna socket you might have a hard job explaining that you don't use it for live tv.

Although to get the warrant they'll need some sort of evidence that you're using a TV without a license.


I was very sure that the criteria was that if you own live signal receiving equipment i.e a TV then you need a license even if it is unplugged.

Original post by mfaxford

Depends a lot on where the TV is. If you have TV's in your own locked rooms then you should have a TV license each. If it's a single TV for the flat in a communual space then a single shared license is likely to be acceptable.


Planning on having mine in my room. DANG.
Reply 250
Original post by The Patriot
I was very sure that the criteria was that if you own live signal receiving equipment i.e a TV then you need a license even if it is unplugged.


Nope it's all about actually recieving the signal. You also need a license if you're getting TV over the internet (IPTV or the likes of iPlayer) if it's live (or near live). But not for shows that were shown at some other time.

So if the TV is only used for DVDs, gaming, etc. you don't need a license. If you don't want to buy a license watch everything on iPlayer (or similar) a couple of hours after it was live and you're fine!
Reply 251
Original post by The Patriot
I was very sure that the criteria was that if you own live signal receiving equipment i.e a TV then you need a license even if it is unplugged.


The wording of the law is that you need a licence if you 'install any device for the purpose of receiving live television signals' (not exact wording but same meaning).

Therefore, you can legally own a Tv without ever needing a licence as long as it has not been installed for the purpose of watching tv. Buying a tv to plug into a games console does not require a licence.
Original post by Reue
The wording of the law is that you need a licence if you 'install any device for the purpose of receiving live television signals' (not exact wording but same meaning).

Therefore, you can legally own a Tv without ever needing a licence as long as it has not been installed for the purpose of watching tv. Buying a tv to plug into a games console does not require a licence.


Just read it online, and you're right. Maybe it used to be the way I thought it was, but it's not anymore.
'Do I need a TV licence if I watch tv on a laptop?

If you are using a laptop (or any other device) to watch live television then you still need a license, unless the laptop is unplugged from the mains and operating from battery power in which case you will be covered by your parent's license (see above)'

Without trying to sound like I am fussing, when it says 'unless the laptop is unplugged' does this mean that as long as I charge my laptop up BEFORE I watch a live TV programme and don't have it plugged in whilst, I do not need a licence?
Someone please help!
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 254
Original post by asimpson1992
'Do I need a TV licence if I watch tv on a laptop?
...'

Without trying to sound like I am fussing, when it says 'unless the laptop is unplugged' does this mean that as long as I charge my laptop up BEFORE I watch a live TV programme and don't have it plugged in whilst, I do not need a licence?
Someone please help!


That's effectivly how I'd read it, however to be safe I'd probably read it as any physical connection (so no ethernet either) as I think it works along similar lines to a mobile device. It also assumes you spend a reasonaable amount of time at your parents house (vacations) and that they have a TV license.
Reply 255
Ok, probably sounds a bit of a technicality but at what point is a broadcast considered to be "live" ? As per the TV licensing rules it only covers live television, and these online sites like tvcatchup have to receive and rebroadcast, so technically isnt live? Their wording says "as its being broadcast" - surely with retransmission it's not simultaneous?
Reply 256
By live they tend to mean that it's not on demand. On demand being you can choose when to start watching the program. So services like tvcatchup count as live. In the days of digital and analogue there was a delay between the two due to the encoding/decoding that takes plce for digital.
Reply 257
If I take my Laptop in to a TV room that has a TV License, will I be covered to watch Sky Go as long as I stay in that room? Any help would be great :biggrin:
Reply 258
Original post by Drizzzzzy
If I take my Laptop in to a TV room that has a TV License, will I be covered to watch Sky Go as long as I stay in that room? Any help would be great :biggrin:


Portable devices can be covered by a licence on your 'home' address. So if you are a student and have a tv licence at your permenant home address you will be covered to watch tv on a portable device anywhere.

If you 'install' your laptop (Plug it into a mains power supply) then that address would need to have a licence.

I've checked with the Tv Licence people and they have confirmed that you would be covered by someone elses' licence (or communal area licence) if you took your laptop to someone's house who had a licence.
Has there ever been a case of them successfully proving live TV has been watched on a laptop?

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