A ceiling collapsed last Sunday (06/12) in a student’s room in Jesus College accommodation. The student in question had already returned home for the vacation when the incident occurred, and no one was harmed.

The room is in a house on Malcolm Street, which is entirely inhabited by Jesus College students.

Footage seen by Varsity appears to show large chunks of debris scattered across the room, including on a bed, chair and piano.

A College spokesperson told Varsity that they secured the room on Sunday night before inspecting it on Monday morning when they “could find no obvious reason for the collapse”. The spokesperson also detailed that the College checked several other rooms in the house, including the one directly above and “will inspect as many ceilings as possible in the house”.

The student whose room was affected told Varsity that there did not appear to be “very many” implications for him. The College has not indicated that he will not be able to move back in at the start of Lent term and “they have got straight to work so I’m not worried about their proactivity”. He clarified that he has not personally suffered any property damage.

The Jesus College spokesperson explained that “Jesus has experienced Housing and Maintenance teams used to dealing with heritage properties” and the houses are “thoroughly inspected by our Housekeeping, Housing and Maintenance teams on a regular basis”.

They also stressed that the College has “an excellent track record as a landlord”. Jesus has subscribed to the Accreditation Network UK Code of Practice for the Management of Student Accommodation which sets high standards in student accommodation provision.

As for the student who’s ceiling collapsed, the spokesperson told Varsity that the College had reached out to them to “discuss the matter and arrange the secure removal and storage of their belongings”. As the student had already left for the winter vacation, there was not much in the room, but the College has promised to repair or replace any damage to any personal items before the student returns.

Over half of second, third and fourth year students at Jesus have rooms in shared houses, with a total of 200 rooms across buildings on Jesus Lane, Park Street, Lower Park Street, Maids Causeway and Malcolm Street. Most postgraduates also live in these houses. All the houses come fully furnished and have kitchen and laundry facilities.

In the academic year 2019-20 the annual rent for the rooms on Malcolm Street was between £3,400 and £5,200 for undergraduates and £5,200 and £6,900 for postgraduates.