A practising barrister has set out the legal rights of households when a TV licence officer comes to the door, including the locked gate principle that can determine whether an agent is allowed onto the property. The guidance, shared in a 2021 video by Daniel J. ShenSmith on his YouTube channel BlackBeltBarrister, addresses a common scenario: a person owns a television but holds no licence, has concluded after reviewing the regulations that they do not need one, yet continues to receive repeated letters from TV Licensing insisting otherwise.
Ignoring Letters and Telling Agents to Leave
ShenSmith explained that in such cases, the householder can simply ignore the correspondence and ask any visiting agents to leave the property. He noted that the caveat to this, which he described as important because of potential criminal consequences, is if a warrant has been issued by a magistrate, or a sheriff in Scotland, to search the premises on reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed, such as watching TV without a licence. In that situation, obstructing the lawful execution of the warrant may amount to an offence.
The same applies if a magistrate has levied a fine for failure to pay a TV licence and issued a fine. However, in the absence of a warrant, TV licensing agents have no lawful authority to enter a property without permission.
The Locked Gate Rule
This includes situations where there is a locked gate at the front of the property. ShenSmith said that if the gate is locked, the implied right of access stops at that point, because it is a locked gate, and it is this implied right of access that makes the situation interesting.
He clarified that anyone with genuine business with the occupant of a residence has this implied right to approach the door and knock or ring. However, there are circumstances where this right may be revoked.
Revoking the Right of Access
ShenSmith stated that a person can simply tell somebody to get off their property, or be more specific and tell them that their implied right of access has been revoked. Alternatively, this can be demonstrated with a sign on the front of the home, outside the gate, or a standalone sign.
The guidance comes as BBC TV licence numbers have reportedly fallen by around half a million in a year, with households declaring they do not need one now standing at 3.7 million, a rise of 62,000. BBC chief financial officer Bérangère Michel has said the trend is not changing back and will instead gather pace.
