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Find out more about paying your bills in our Ultimate Student Bills Guide.

Do students need to pay the TV Licence fee?

Yep. You only need one TV licence per property, so £14ish a month split between a few housemates isn't too bad to get TV sorted for the whole house.

You need a TV licence as a student if you:

  • Watch Live TV or BBC iPlayer in your room in your student accommodation or halls of residence (You'll need your own licence)
  • Live in a student house share with a separate tenancy agreement (You'll need your own licence)
  • Live somewhere with a joint tenancy (You'll only need one licence for the whole place, dw)

And if you get a Fused package, you can bundle with all your other bills to make things even easier. You also won't need to set up a standing order to send your mate £3 a month 😅

What is a TV Licence?

The TV Licence is a legal requirement in the UK.  It pays for all the programming of the BBC, including the news, and maintains broadcasting infrastructure for all TV channels.

  • This means everybody contributes to the equipment, buildings and employees who make it possible for live TV to be broadcast!

You need a separate licence for every address, and students don't get a discount. BUT the good news is you only need a single licence for the whole house.

Can students share a TV Licence?

Yes! If you and your housemates are all on one shared tenancy agreement for your student house, you can share a TV Licence. One TV Licence is required per property, regardless of the number of people living there. If you live with housemates the TV licence works out at a few quid each per month.

How much do students pay for the TV Licence fee?

Students pay the same as everybody else. From April 1st 2024, TV Licence fee will be £169.50 per year, which you can pay with a monthly direct debit. You need to pay one TV Licence fee per property, which means you can split the cost with your housemates.

How should students pay for their TV Licence?

There are a few ways to pay!

Super convenient option: A student bills package

The easiest way is to bundle it with all your other bills, like in a Fused student bills package.

Find out more about student bills packages, or get a quote!

Traditional route: Direct debit, credit card or debit card

You can pay with card or set up a Direct Debit on the TV licensing website and sort out how to split the cost with your housemates.

You can also choose to pay all at once for the year, pay every three months or pay each month.

What happens if I don't pay the TV Licence fee as a student?

The TV licence allows you to watch live TV (on any channel or platform) and use BBC iPlayer. If you do these things without a TV licence you can end up with a £1000 fine. So...probably best to just get one if you're planning to watch TV live or on iPlayer.

What does live TV mean and why do I need a TV licence for it?

'Live TV' just means watching TV on any channel as it's broadcast. So, if you come home from work or uni, chill on the sofa and pop the telly on while you have a scroll and decompress, you need a TV licence.

It also means if you ever watch any show on your mobile, laptop or tablet, streamed as it's broadcast from BBC, ITV or Channel4 you also need a TV licence. Whether you watch in a browser or on the app doesn't matter, if it's a live broadcast, you need to pay the TV licence fee.

Thinking of getting a TV package?

If you love a night in, a TV package can be an amazing deal for your student house, and makes the TV licence more than worth it.

Check out the student TV packages you can get from Fused to save money and get the most out of your TV package.

More bills advice for students: