# 15K per month Accommodation Allowance - Good or Bad??



## Boomhauer (Oct 28, 2013)

Hi to everyone.

This is my first post on the forum have had a quick look around the site and its very informative.

I have a question I need some advice on please.

I have been offered employment in the UAE and have received the draft contract.
Within the contract it states that they offer an accommodation allowance of 15k UAE Dirhams per month - this amount will be paid alongside my monthly salary.

What would 15k per month get me accommodation-wise in Dubai, ideally I would like a 2-3 bedroom villa/apartment?? Initially I will be in UAE on my own with a view to the family joining me at a later date.

Thanks to all for any advice with this, if there is any information already provided within the forum any links to it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again


----------



## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

AED 180k pa should give you plenty of options


----------



## monuckrishnan (Oct 28, 2013)

i think 140-160 k PA would get you decent 2/3 BHK..all the best


----------



## Yorki (Feb 10, 2013)

2 bed villa in Springs is about AED120,000 per year at the moment.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

how big is your family?
how many bedrooms do you want?

look at dubizzle website
look at propertyfinder.ae website

tap in your parameters
look at different areas

you'll have your answer!

180K / annum gets you a reasonably good gaff.

Do you HAVE to spend it on accommodation?
search a little harder, look at alternative areas etc, and depending on how precious you are, you could pocket an additional 30,000+ / annum for fun / savings / beer


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

it also depends on what you call decent?

Are you moving to Dubai from a penthouse on Mayfair, a Barratt estate in the Home Counties, a 'Coronation Street' terrace, a Scottish farm house, a converted windmill, Cumbernauld, a soon-to-be demolished tower block in Hull....

this will determine what you (and the wife....) consider to be decent!


----------



## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Well if you don't want it, I'll take it.


----------



## Boomhauer (Oct 28, 2013)

Thanks for that, appreciate it.

Youve read my mind in that i want to pocket as much of that allowance as possible, 30k staying in my wallet works for me so I'll look at alternative areas as you suggest, any recommendations?

By decent I meant just a bog standard family accommodation, not looking for the penthouse suite!!

Thanks again 






vantage said:


> how big is your family?
> how many bedrooms do you want?
> 
> look at dubizzle website
> ...


----------



## ajhutch (Aug 14, 2013)

Have a look at the sticky thread, ultimate guide to renting. It has information on all the different areas and I found it very useful. 

But keep in mind where your office will be based, will you buy a car? Or use metro and public transport? There are a lot of factors on choosing where to live.


----------



## Rogersam (Oct 29, 2013)

Boomhauer said:


> Hi to everyone.
> 
> This is my first post on the forum have had a quick look around the site and its very informative.
> 
> ...


Accommodation allowance of 15k UAE Dirhams per month is a good amount to get a two or three bed room house in Mirdiff.


----------



## chestnut (Apr 1, 2013)

However don't forget that you will be expected to pay up the rent in 1 or 2 or 4 payments using post-dated cheques. It's all in the sticky thread.


----------



## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

2 posts so I assume the OP is new in the UAE. Do you understand why your company want to divide your total renumeration between salary, housing allowance and even transport allowance /beach club allowance /school fees allowance /food allowance /utilities allowance /many more wacky ones?

It's because when you finish working for them in the UAE they have to pay an end of service gratuity based on one month per year worked but calculated at your basic salary rate. ie a lot of companies try their best to reduce "salary" to a small sum and load the package with "allowances". 

There's is lots of bragging amongst expats about all the "allowances" they receive yet those of us who do a cash deal with our employers usually come out laughing 

If the company are weighing accommodation too high don't think you can't object and get the excess allocated to the basic salary.


----------



## Brav0 (Feb 11, 2013)

dnastudios said:


> However don't forget that you will be expected to pay up the rent in 1 or 2 or 4 payments using post-dated cheques. It's all in the sticky thread.


The less cheques you can do it in i.e. 1 or 2 gives you most bargaining power when it comes to negotiating the price


----------



## JonGard (Aug 18, 2013)

Can I have your job please?


----------



## rosy24 (Oct 30, 2013)

you can try areas like midriff, springs, dubai marina. They have fairly reasonable rent. Hope this helps.


----------

