A letting agent has come under fire after students queued outside it in the rain for two days
The firm provided shelter in the form of gazebos, and gave them tea and sandwiches.
But North Oxford Property Services was accused of being ‘irresponsible’ in making its properties for the next academic year – ten months away – available so early.
Dr Alice Prochaska, principal of Oxford’s Somerville College, said she had asked NOPS to delay releasing its properties.
She told the local paper: “By the time the list is released the students have only been in Oxford for four or five weeks and it’s really difficult for them and they are working out their friendship groups and trying to find a house.
“We experience students suffering from stress and our tutors have also been worried about their quality of work – some even pleaded with us to let them miss tutorials so they could queue.
“It is unnecessary and deplorable for them to release their houses this early – in fact it’s downright irresponsible.”
College president Alex Chrichton-Miller said: “They have no reason to release their properties so early – it’s ridiculous.
“The way the whole thing is handled is pretty ridiculous really.
“It’s such an out-dated way to sort out student accommodation when everyone has a lot of work to do.”
However NOPS managing director Robin Swailes said his was not the first agency in Oxford to release student properties, and nor was queuing encouraged.
He said: “Traditionally students have been queuing outside our offices for 26 years. We don’t encourage them to queue and they normally do so because they have a particular house in mind they have seen on our website or that their friends live in.
“They queue because we have the best student properties in Oxford.”
He added that the company paid for four gazebos to be put up this year to protect the students from the rain, and provided them with bacon sandwiches and cups of tea as it has done every year.
It is not the first time EYE has covered the story of students queuing outside Oxford agents.
Last time we reported it, students queued five days outside Finders Keepers, which pointed out that the practice was an entirely unnecessary student custom in the age of online.
Well certainly the main reason is demand as evidenced by the queue.Maybe Somerville College if they are so concerned take a more proactive approach to the provision of student accomodation.Im sure they have deep pockets or if they havent pick up the phone to Watkin Jones who im sure would be delighted to provide them with some state of the art accomodation as long as they are prepared to hook up to a lease and they can self manage releasing at their own discretion
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