Housing allowance highest in Qatar

Housing allowance highest in Qatar

QatarNews
By QatarNews

With rents rising at an unprecedented pace in Qatar, housing allowance by companies to employees have also surged.

Compared to other GCC countries, yearly housing allowance is highest in Qatar and ranges between $21,000 (QR76,500) to $53,000 (QR193,000) across job roles, according to the latest GCC Allowances and Benefits Survey by Aon Hewitt.

Housing allowance in Qatar and the UAE is about 35-40 percent of basic pay while it is usually only 25 percent in other GCC countries. Children’s education assistance is also highest in Qatar and ranges from $8,000 (QR29,000) to $17,000 (QR 62,000) per child across job roles.

“Increased demand spurred by a surging population means Qatar rent and house prices are also on the rise,” said Robert Richter, Compensation Survey Manager at Aon Hewitt Middle East.

“At Aon Hewitt we help companies attract and retain the right talent and inevitably some companies will not be able to afford to keep up with the change in demand, resulting in the migration of talent between organisations." 

"However, we do anticipate that organisations will start revising their allowances such as housing in the interest of talent retention,” Ritcher said.

The most commonly provided allowances and benefits in the GCC are housing, transportation, children’s education assistance and home leave benefits. Housing and transportation is typically provided on a monthly basis. 

The Peninsula

By rujimuba• 3 May 2014 10:26
rujimuba

right question bro, in our countries commission means what the seller's broker gets from property owner. But here the purchaser has to give commission to while renting a house? isn't this a crazy system? these are happening because of less supply in the market while the demand is increasing, most of flats are kept vacant despite there's high demand and they don't slash their prices as well as the rent income is just pocket money for them.

By ravi-invincible• 1 May 2014 13:38
ravi-invincible

Actually, what ever figure mentioned above is only for the western expats. They should know that there are other communities living in qatar. They also have a right to live & enjoy live. its a disaster & i dont know why

they have to increase the rent so much. Please also think of the low income workers as they are humans too. 95% people charge a commission when selling a house. is this legal?

By rambo31• 1 May 2014 07:33
Rating: 4/5
rambo31

It seems that this survey has been taken among expats from western countries(first world country) who get this whopping figures.The sectors (oil & gas,real estate,railway) in which this survey was taken should be mentioned.

By zohaibkamal• 30 Apr 2014 23:45
Rating: 2/5
zohaibkamal

housing allowances are high ...what do you mean..? a normal rented house is not easy to get here...the above analysis are nowhere near reality...prices increase by month....but salaries and allowances..? they are always at a freeze... there should be a strict check by the Govt on the house rent increase and the salary of a average person along with the house rent allowance....until then all above is just a day dream seen by someone living in pearl qatar.

By rujimuba• 30 Apr 2014 21:49
Rating: 4/5
rujimuba

In Saudi you can get Villas for 1000 riyals but in Qatar a normal Villa will cost 5000-7000 Riyals. So Of course the allowances should be high in Qatar compared to other GCC states. How did you arrive at the figures? First understand the 80-20 Parity principle where 80% of the allowances are of 20% of community that means top ranking officials allowances accounts for the major portion of what you are taking and dividing by number of people. And then you say AVG is this much...Understand that AVG principle cannot be applied over here. None of the companies in Qatar has so far increased he accomodation allowances despite high inflation this year. Even the top Q-Companies haven't increased the allowances to match the inflation. Increasing the allowance would only solve this issue for a short term. But in the long run if you want to control this the government need to have a proper mechanism to control the inflation by applying good economic principles and theories.

By Sense Mine• 30 Apr 2014 15:00
Sense Mine

that only shows that qatar later on is only place for expat who can afford very high house rent.

By jonaethenqr• 30 Apr 2014 12:11
Rating: 2/5
jonaethenqr

Strange to see the minimum which says QAR 76500 annually..... more than 50% come under QAR 4000 per month so annually 48000/- who are not able to afford a proper accommodation unit other than middlemen run unauthorized partitions....... Fugures are just to project qatar as an expensive metropolitian city when facts relate much below on quality index in comparison

By jithil• 30 Apr 2014 11:35
Rating: 2/5
jithil

It's entirely reverse for me. I gets only half than my allowance I used to get when I was in dubai

By ravi-invincible• 30 Apr 2014 10:00
Rating: 3/5
ravi-invincible

soon Qatar will be like Ausi n NZ. the lower income workers will have to leave due to the hike in rents. i am not sure if this is good or bad.

By BCC• 30 Apr 2014 09:12
BCC

who is in Local Contract there is no problem because this people not geting anything. So dont worry.

By Molten Metal• 30 Apr 2014 09:09
Rating: 4/5
Molten Metal

Bring Landlord & your HR Manager face to face ................................. Wed , 30.04.2014 , 09.12 hrs

By dazk55• 30 Apr 2014 09:01
Rating: 5/5
dazk55

my rent increased this month by 12.6%, a rise of QR 2,000.oo per month. salary & housing allowance remains the same.

By ashworld• 30 Apr 2014 08:34
Rating: 4/5
ashworld

Check the Rent and Rent inflation even what is paid is less compared to what the home owners ask from the tenants.

HRA is part of the salary in most companies so one has to pay more than HRA to stay in a decent enough building and I am not taking about west bay or villa's.

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