The federal government has announced a substantial increase in the House Rent Allowance of Federal Employees 2024, raising the house rent ceiling by 45% for employees across all grades, from 1 to 22. This change primarily benefits employees residing in six major cities, with the most significant increases observed in the federal capital, Islamabad.
According to an official notification issued by the Ministry of Housing and Works, the enhanced rental ceiling applies to the hiring of residential accommodation for staff and officers working in federal ministries, divisions, attached departments, and subordinate offices. The affected by this increase in the House Rent Allowance of Federal Employees 2024 included cities Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar.
Under the revised rates, the rental ceiling for grade 22 employees has been significantly raised to Rs 142,743 per month for Islamabad. In contrast, for other cities, the ceiling has been increased to Rs 125,989 per month, up from the previous rate of Rs 98,444 and Rs 89,230, respectively. Similarly, grade 21 government servants will now see their rental allowance increase from Rs 82,261 per month to Rs 119,278 for Islamabad and from Rs 71,107 to Rs98,378 per month for the other cities.
Grade 20 employees are not left behind, as their rental ceiling has been raised from Rs 68,700 to Rs 99,615 per month for Islamabad, while those in other cities will see an increase from Rs 59,079 to Rs 82,696 per month. The adjustments continue with grade 19 officials, who will now receive Rs79,320 in Islamabad and Rs 65,542 in other cities, compared to their previous rates of Rs 54,704 and Rs 46,816.
For grades 17 and 18, the rental ceiling has been set at Rs 59,669 for Islamabad and Rs49,808 for other cities, up from Rs 41,147 and Rs35,898, respectively. Employees in grades 14 to 16 will now receive Rs 45,073 in Islamabad and Rs 37,665 in other cities, an increase from Rs 31,085 and Rs 27,134 per month.
Furthermore, grade 11-13 officials will be allowed to draw up to Rs 35,878 per month in Islamabad and Rs 30,815 in other cities, up from Rs 24,744 and Rs 21,462 per month. The rental ceiling for employees in grades 7 to 10 has also been enhanced to Rs 23,784 in Islamabad and Rs 20,112 in other cities, compared to their previous rates of Rs 16,403 and Rs 14,682.
For employees in grades 3 to 6, the rental allowance will now be Rs 15,921 in Islamabad and Rs 13,230 in other cities, a rise from Rs 10,980 and Rs 9,654. Finally, the rental ceiling for grade 1 and 2 employees has been adjusted to Rs 10,192 per month in Islamabad and Rs9,590 per month in other cities, an increase from Rs 7,029 and Rs 6,591.
Also Read: ‘Rightsizing Scheme For Govt Employees’ With 4 Packages
An official remarked that the revised rates were established based on thorough market surveys and requests made by various segments of government servants. The higher House Rent Allowance of Federal Employees 2024 will be applicable to all new hires and in cases where employees are required to pay the difference between the rent and their rental ceiling.
Also Read: Government Bans Social Media Use by Employees
In such instances, the rent may be increased to meet the owner’s demand at the time of hiring or adjusted to the occupant’s revised rental ceiling, whichever is lower. The enhanced rates will also apply to houses rented by government servants under the Accommodation Allocation Rules of 2002 or subsequent decentralised systems of house rent, notified on July 31, 2004, for which leases have expired. In these cases, lease agreements will be executed with the owners based on the current rental assessment, the occupant’s revised rental ceiling, or the owners’ demand, whichever is less.
