Oxford University’s salty response to reports on the vice-chancellor’s ‘rent-free’ mansion

The University of Oxford has clapped back at The Tab’s report about their vice-chancellor being housed in a £3.5 million mansion.

The Tab reported that the vice-chancellor lives “rent-free” in a university-owned house.

A spokesperson for the university told the Oxford Mail that the article “incorrectly refers” to the vice-chancellor living “rent-free”. They argued she does not live “rent-free” as the university does not charge her rent for this property.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “rent-free” as “exempt from payment of rent”.

As part of her contract, the current vice-chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, lives in a red brick, three-storey Victorian mansion. The property has a walled garden and a period conservatory. The university’s accounts for the 2023/2024 year show she received  £573,000, including a salary of £410,000 and an accommodation payment worth £100,000. The vice-chancellor does use the house for business meetings and for hosting events.

The vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford (Image via YouTube)

The University of Oxford also wanted to call into question The Tab writing that “The previous vice-chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, was criticised in 2017 for her salary while living rent-free in the mansion.” The university commented on The Tab not explicitly saying in that piece which specific people had criticsed the vice-chancellor, and for what exact reason.

As explained in the following paragraph of The Tab’s piece, The Times reported in 2017 on backlash to the £116,406 refurbishments on the house.

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The vice-chancellors of several other prestigious UK universities are also accommodated by the uni. The University of Cambridge‘s vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, resides within a property that is estimated to now by worth approximately £5 million. The University of Edinburgh houses their principal in one of the most expensive streets in Scotland. The uni covers the household bills, including garden landscaping and servicing the Aga cooker.

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