Everyone Who Does Not Have to Pay the £180 TV Licence Under Andy Burnham
The cost of a standard UK TV Licence has risen to £180 a year from April 2026, putting another financial pressure on households already dealing with higher everyday costs. The increase applies to colour television licences and represents a £5.50 rise from the previous annual fee of £174.50.
But not everyone has to pay the full £180.
Under the current rules, some households can receive a free TV Licence, while others qualify for a reduced fee. Millions of people may also legally avoid buying a licence altogether because of the way they watch television.
The issue has attracted renewed attention under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, amid wider discussions about household finances and the future of BBC funding. Reports have suggested that Burnham could support reforms aimed at making the licence fee more affordable for lower-income households, although the existing concessions are not personal exemptions introduced by him.
For anyone trying to reduce their household bills, it is therefore important to understand exactly when the £180 charge applies — and when it does not.
1. You do not watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer
The simplest way to avoid paying the £180 fee is not to use television services that legally require a licence.
You do not need a TV Licence simply because you own a television. If you only watch on-demand programmes through services such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video or other catch-up platforms, you generally do not need a licence.
You can also watch videos on websites such as YouTube without a TV Licence, provided you are not watching live television content. DVDs and Blu-rays are also outside the licensing requirement.
The important distinction is between live television and on-demand content.
If you watch or record a programme while it is being broadcast, you need a licence. The same applies to live television streamed over the internet. BBC iPlayer is also covered by the licensing requirement, including on-demand BBC programmes.
Therefore, a household that has abandoned live television and BBC iPlayer could save the entire £180 every year.
2. People aged 75 or over who receive Pension Credit
One of the most important groups entitled to a free TV Licence is people aged 75 or over who receive Pension Credit.
This concession was introduced after the previous universal free TV licence for all over-75s was replaced. Today, age alone is not enough. An eligible person must be aged 75 or over and receive Pension Credit, or live with a partner who receives it.
For those who qualify, the saving is significant: the annual £180 charge falls to £0.
Pension Credit itself is designed to provide additional financial support to people over State Pension age on a low income. Importantly, many eligible pensioners do not claim it, meaning they could potentially be missing out on more than just the TV Licence concession.
The government says Pension Credit can provide an average of thousands of pounds in additional support each year and can unlock other assistance as well.
Anyone aged 75 or over who is struggling with household costs should therefore check whether they qualify for Pension Credit rather than assuming that their income is too high.
3. People who are registered blind or severely sight impaired
People who are registered blind or severely sight impaired can receive a 50 per cent discount on the TV Licence.
This means the standard £180 fee is reduced to £90.
The concession can also apply where the licence holder lives with someone who is registered blind or severely sight impaired, although the licence needs to be held in the eligible person’s name.
Applicants normally need appropriate certification from their local council, an ophthalmologist or another recognised authority confirming their sight impairment.
It is worth noting that simply having poor eyesight does not automatically qualify someone. The official concession applies to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired under the relevant rules.
4. People living in eligible residential care or supported accommodation
Another group that can pay considerably less is made up of people living in eligible residential care homes, supported housing or sheltered accommodation.
Instead of paying £180, qualifying residents can obtain a TV Licence for £7.50 a year.
The concession is available to certain residents who are retired and over 60 or disabled, subject to the accommodation meeting the relevant requirements. The application is normally handled through the housing or care-home management.
For someone who would otherwise pay the full fee, this represents a saving of £172.50.
However, people should not assume that every form of sheltered or supported accommodation automatically qualifies. The accommodation provider can check the rules and arrange the appropriate licence.
5. Households using only a black-and-white television
There is also a much less common concession for households that genuinely use a black-and-white television.
The 2026 regulations set the annual black-and-white TV Licence at £60.50, compared with £180 for a colour licence.
That is a saving of £119.50 a year.
However, switching to a black-and-white television is unlikely to be an attractive money-saving strategy for most modern households. It is nevertheless an important part of the official licensing structure.
The key point is that the licence fee is not automatically £180 for everyone who legally needs one. The amount depends on the type of licence and whether a concession applies.
6. People who are already covered by another licence
A TV Licence applies to a household, rather than every individual person watching television.
This means people living together do not necessarily need to purchase separate licences.
For example, a single licence can cover a household where people watch television in a shared area or have a joint tenancy agreement. Separate arrangements can apply to people in rented accommodation, particularly where tenants have individual tenancy agreements and watch television in their own rooms.
This is particularly relevant for students, flat-sharers and families.
Before buying another licence, people should check whether the address or accommodation is already covered. Paying for two licences when only one is required could mean unnecessarily spending £180.
What does Andy Burnham actually change?
The phrase “under Andy Burnham” can be misleading because the existing TV Licence exemptions are based on national rules, not a special scheme personally created by the Prime Minister.
Burnham has, however, entered office at a time when the BBC’s funding model is under intense scrutiny. The licence fee rose to £180 in April 2026, while the number of active licences has fallen. Recent figures show 23.3 million licences were active at the end of the 2025/26 financial year, around 540,000 fewer than a year earlier. At the same time, 3.7 million households declared that they did not need a licence.
There has also been discussion about changing how the BBC is funded in the future. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has considered proposals that could potentially involve streaming subscribers contributing towards BBC funding, while other ideas include different levels of charges or targeted concessions.
That means households should be cautious about headlines suggesting that everyone is automatically receiving a new exemption under Burnham. The existing rules remain the important point when deciding whether a licence is currently required.
Check before cancelling
Anyone considering cancelling their TV Licence should first check exactly what they watch.
Watching Netflix on demand does not normally require a licence, but watching a live event through an online streaming platform can require one. BBC iPlayer also requires a licence.
This distinction matters because watching or recording live television without a licence when one is required is against the law and can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.
For households that genuinely do not watch live television or use BBC iPlayer, however, the potential saving is straightforward: the £180 annual charge can be avoided altogether.
For others, the saving may come through Pension Credit, a sight-impairment concession, residential accommodation or another licensing arrangement.
The £180 TV Licence is therefore not a universal bill that every household must pay. The crucial question is not whether you own a television, but what you watch, how you watch it and whether you qualify for a concession.
As the government considers the future of BBC funding under Andy Burnham, those rules could eventually change. For now, however, checking eligibility could save a household anything from a few pounds to the full £180 every year.