TV Licensing has spoken out to clarify the rules around when you need a TV licence, after a little-known element of the legislation came to light.
You need a £180 TV licence to watch live TV, including online streaming, BBC iPlayer, Sky, and Amazon. The law also states that you must not install a "television receiver" unless authorised by a licence, suggesting a licence is needed just to own a TV set even without watching live TV.
YouTube Financial Professional Weighs In
YouTuber and former financial professional Daniel ShenSmith recently discussed this stipulation, calling it a "myth" that you need a licence simply for a TV capable of receiving channels.
He said: "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."
He added that people once tried to avoid buying a licence by claiming TV Licensing couldn't prove they were watching TV, even with an aerial, so the law made it illegal to have an aerial. On why the law remains, he said it was "pretty much for old time's sake" and to keep legislation consistent.
TV Licensing Responds
ShenSmith noted that to his knowledge, no one has been successfully prosecuted for installing TV apparatus without a licence for watching live TV. TV Licensing was asked to clarify.
A TV Licensing spokesperson said: "There is no loophole. Where the evidence supports it, enforcement action can be taken under the existing law."
They added: "Our primary objective is to support people to stay correctly licensed, and prosecution is always a last resort." The group noted that prosecution data is held by the Ministry of Justice.
