A Magdalen student has proposed a JCR motion condemning part of the college’s accommodation procedure as “illegal”.
Mike Worth, a third-year physicist, stated in his motion: “The College routinely threatens students with eviction from college accommodation.” He went on to claim, “The College has a history of at least one attempted illegal eviction, which was only prevented by legal threats by the [Oxford] Council’s Tenancy Relations Officer.”
Speaking to Cherwell, Worth claimed that this refers to an instance when Magdalen tried to evict him while he was working in Oxford over the summer. He alleged, “I received an email one Wednesday morning at around 11am informing me that I was being evicted on Friday at 4pm, and that any of my belongings not removed from the room would be ‘disposed of’.”
He said, “After spending the next two days receiving support from the [Magdalen] JCR, OUSU, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter, and Oxford City Council, the college finally relented after the Tenancy Relations Officer of the Council sent the Home Bursar a letter.”
In the motion, Worth pointed out that lawful evictions must be supported by a court order, must have given at least 28 days’ notice, and must not contain any threats to dispose of any belongings left in the property. He claimed that in the incident referred to, Magdalen acted illegally on all of these accounts. At the time OUSU contacted Jackie Mogridge, Oxford City Council’s Tenancy Relations Officer, on Worth’s behalf.
In a letter to Magdalen’s Home Bursar, Mr Mark Blandford-Baker, Mogridge stated, “Mr Worth has the legal right to remain in his room until the Oxford County Court orders him to vacate the premises […] The court will not make such an order until after the expiry of a valid notice to quit. According to the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the notice period for a licensee should be 28 days.”
Following these events, Worth stayed in his college accommodation until the end of his licence period, as it was less than 28 days. Worth told Cherwell that after complaining directly to the President of Magdalen about his case, who he claims “refused to apologise” for the incident, he asked about evictions under the Freedom of Information Act. The college however has not replied within the 20-day time limit to which organisations are normally obliged to adhere.
Worth further alleged that Blandford-Baker “outright refused [to provide information], stating that he had ‘already wasted enough time on this’.” Worth added, “He refused to apologise for any of the college’s actions and made passing reference to lessons learnt without any details or apparent effect.”
