“I do not own a television, so surely not?”
Do students need a TV Licence in the UK?
Short answer
A TV Licence costs £180 a year for colour. You need one to watch or record live TV on any channel or streaming service, and to use BBC iPlayer at all. It applies on any device, so a laptop or phone counts.
Not owning a TV does not exempt you
The requirement follows what you watch, not what you watch it on. Live television streamed on a laptop needs a licence, and BBC iPlayer needs one even for on-demand programmes. This is the assumption that most often leads to a fine.
What does not need one
On-demand services that are not iPlayer and are not showing live channels do not require a licence. If you only ever watch recorded content on those, you may not need one — but check your own viewing honestly against the rules rather than assuming.
Shared houses
Where tenants hold a single joint tenancy, one licence may cover the household. Separate tenancy agreements for individual rooms can mean separate licences. Check which kind of agreement you signed.
Where this answer stops
Official sources
Checked against the live sources on .
Check if you need one
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