Separate TV License for a room rented on Mon-Fri?

gettingready

macman wrote: »

But as already explained, a TV licence is per property, not per person. You have two homes, so you need two licences.

I do not have 2 homes. I stay in a room in a flat with shared kitchen and bathroom - this is not my home. My home is somewhere else. I only stay here for work from Mon evening (after work) till Friday morning (before work).

It is not reasonable to expect someone who already has a license for permanent home address to pay again for one in a place they stay 4 nights per week.

I think it is bonkers..

macman

You have two properties, one you rent, and the other is your 'home'. The law as it stands says that for each property you require a licence is you watch live TV there. As explained ad infinitum, the licence is per property and not per person. If it was based per person and so 'portable', every adult in a property would need their own licence.
The number of nights a week is not relevant-you would still need a licence if you stayed there 1 night a week, And using your logic, you should be licenced there anyway as you spend 4 nights there and only 3 at 'home'.
You don't pay a reduced rate of council tax on the 4 night property just because you only occupy it part of the week, so why would that apply to a TV licence?

stockton_2

I had to research this issue when I had two homes recently although I was not in a shared property situation. I believe macman is correct.

It is unfair, even bonkers, as you put it, but it is important that you understand the legal situation so you can deal correctly with any license investigators.

gettingready

Thanks for all the posts, appreciated.

Still feel it is simply insane.....

Not watching TV at all Mon-Fri so not worried but anyone in this position - feel sorry for them if they pay for the TV licence twice. Or more times...

Shared accommodation like mine should be be covered by some joint/communal type of licence really... This is insane.

brewerdave

I lived in a small flat above a pub for several years Monday to Friday, when I was commuting to work. I never bothered with a TV license as I assumed I was covered either by my license at home or the pub's license.(their TV) A change of regional manager for the pub caused a change because the pub had never had a license !! and when he looked up the relevant legislation we realised that I needed a license individually. Came to a deal whereby I paid 50% of the cost as they were using the facilities at the weekends.Fortunately it was in my last year in the flat, so not a huge cost.

macman

To repeat, you do not, legally speaking, live in 'shared accommodation'. You already told us that it's an HMO, so each tenant has a separate licence. You have the same rights as an individual tenant, and the same requirement to get a licence if you watch live TV.
Who, in your HMO, would pay for the licence if it were available on a 'communal' basis?

gettingready

"Who, in your HMO, would pay for the licence if it were available on a
'communal' basis?"

The landlord. Same as if one stays in a hotel or a B&B.

And if I share kitchen and bathroom with other people then sorry but is shared accomodation.

Again, I do not watch TV but the issue came up and it bugs me how crazy the rules are.

macman

I feel I'm banging my head against the wall here. A hotel or B and B is clearly not in a legal sense the same as a tenanted property, be it an HMO or not. You are not staying in a hotel or B and B, you are a tenant, whether for one night a week, 4 , or 7.
See definition of an HMO here:
https://www.gov.uk/house-in-multiple-occupation-licence
The logic of your argument would require every LL to provide a TV licence for each property they let, rather than it being the responsibility of the occupier.

Marktheshark

Slam the door in the TVL salespersons face and remain silent.
Job done.

Kurtis_Blue

gettingready wrote: »

The landlord. Same as if one stays in a hotel or a B&B.

And if I share kitchen and bathroom with other people then sorry but is shared accomodation.

Again, I do not watch TV but the issue came up and it bugs me how crazy the rules are.

Is the TV in the kitchen or bathroom?