Do you need a TV licence for 1st year halls?

[Hisapsy]

Won’t have an actual TV, but laptop/phone. Possibly to watch iPlayer? Or what might you watch that necessitates a TV licence?
thanks for any help

Yes ours did.

I think it varies. The information should be in the information somewhere.

It used to be that if the rooms were individually numbered then each room needed a TV licence.

Technically yes but personally I wouldn’t bother.

Officially yes, but in practice the uni wouldn’t admit the TV license people so not really. This is unofficial guidance my uni would not be willing to put in writing mind!

I think that if you're on a mobile device and not a TV/desktop computer you're covered by your home licence. Ds definitely didn't bother getting a licence anyway.

You’d be covered by your home license that that is still your permanent address.

if I rented a holiday cottage for a month I wouldn’t get a license for that. Your main family home has one so the child can watch their laptop anywhere else.

you’d have to be mad or have too much money Io buy one for halls!

Yes, mine did, it was on the information provided about the accommodation and because my DD gave me the wrong room number 🤦 she got a warning letter as well a month or so in. So would imagine if it's not included in the accomodation, then you'll need to set up and pay for it.

Didn't have a TV but laptop, phone and tablet all capable of streaming.

I didn't know this! Thanks for sharing, I'm going to check it out, I assumed she needed her own because the letter mentioned any device used for watching TV!

Robbing bar stewards!

Same when I was a student many moons ago

My daughter didn't have one at uni and was never asked to get one. That's utter madness surely?

We were meant to but no-one did (although this was in the late 90s). When the licence people came by, a warning went out to everyone else in the different blocks and as long as your room was locked, they couldn't enter and therefore couldn't prove you had a TV.

Even if she did need one it's only for watching TV live or anything on iPlayer (I think) watching anything or other streaming platforms is a non issue

The TV licence is for tvs at the property not the person though.

So a holiday cottage would already have a TV licence for their TV. Your TV licence is for your house, it doesn't count on any TV you happen to watch because you purchased a licence.

In our uni we needed TV licences for any TV behind a lockable and numbered door.

Ours wasn’t included in halls but dds flat all bought one together.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/watching-live-online-and-on-mobile

They will be covered as long as they only watch on a battery powered device. So fine to watch on a laptop/tablet as long as it isn’t plugged in when doing so.

Won’t apply to my son as we don’t have a licence at home either 😂 (we stick to the rules and don’t watch any live TV or iplayer stuff.

If they use a tv or watch live tv on a plugged in laptop/pc they might, otherwise they are covered by parents' home one.

This is from the TV licence guidance site

if your out-of-term address has a TV Licence (for example, your parents’ or guardian’s home) this will cover you, provided you’re only watching on a device that’s powered solely by its own internal batteries (like your mobile phone, laptop or tablet) AND it isn’t connected to an aerial or plugged into the mains.

If there’s a TV room in the halls, they’ll have a license, then doesn’t that cover any additional TV’s?

No. It would only cover additional TVs if not behind a lockable door.

So in a shared HMO house with 8 bedrooms, if all residents buy a single TV licence and the bedrooms don't have locks, each resident can have a tv. But if the doors of each room are lockable they need a licence each for a normal TV.

Your parents licence covers you to watch tv on a phone or other device if it's not plugged in.

Holiday cottages which are equipped with a tv must be licensed by the owner.

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@Maverickess

be careful what you believe, just because someone posts something does mean they've got a clue what they're on about!

ridiculously if the have a device that they watch iplayer etc on they do technically need one.

DC chose not to have one & didn't watch anything that needed one. It would be much better if the uni could buy one & include it in the hall cost.

Thanks all. Seems a bit grey, if can only watch on laptop if not plugged in!

Really seems a bit of a scam from the TV licence department if everyone in a hall of residence, or even a flat/corridor situation has to buy one separately.

Just to add ds's house which was technically halls had a lot of hassle from TV licence inspectors when he was in first year, no idea why as no one was watching telly. They refused to let anyone in and ignored letters and it died down eventually.

I have 2 homes
1 has a TV licence
The other has a declaration that I have a TV licence at another address
Every time I sign into IPlayer at the 2nd address I get a warning email (accessing legally and not connected to electricity) . I have declared that I dont need one numerous times

Dear Reclaimed House,

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch BBC programmes on iPlayer, or to watch or record live TV on any channel, no matter what device you use.

However, you’ve previously told us that you don’t need a TV Licence at Reclaimed mansion with postcode ending XXX

Our records show you’ve used BBC iPlayer on a number of occasions over recent weeks.

As your No Licence Needed status is now invalid, you will need to buy a TV Licence.