Job Discussion Forums

dhtml · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 8

Hi all, ok HCT will shortly restructure their housing agreement with teachers. Because of the increased cost of housing rental in the UAE.
Yes housing is becoming very expensive so it looks like teachers will have to make up the difference from their monthly salary. UAE is changing not cheap any more.

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

this brings up an interesting question.

We just signed the contract offered by hct. in the contract it expressly states the housing allowance. If as you state hct will restructure their housing agreement, how easy is it for hct to do this with existing contracts?

Afra · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 389

The chance to opt out and take the money only becomes effective after a year's probation for new employees.

Afra · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 389

The new housing rates are effective from 1 June 2007.

abudhabi · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 34

Interesting train of thought DHTML - housing is getting expensive, HCT is restructuring its housing alowance, ipso facto teachers will not be able to afford decent housing.

Yes, there has been a restructuring of the housing allowance. In line with rental realities, an ordinary faculty member, as I am, with 2 kids now has a housing allowance of Dhs 120,000 instead of Dhs 85,000. This means that in our case, we can stay in our accommodation and not have to look for something else. Other allowances are:
Parent(s) + 1 Faculty 95,000
Single Faculty 85,000

These apply in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with less for other emirates.

Interestingly, there were strong rumours that HCT may have changed the allowances by just giving the faculty the money and not accommodation, thus ridding themselves of the hassle of covering rental inflation. There is now a clause allowing staff to elect to take 85% of their housing allowance if they wish to do all the searching and paperwork themselves. Not an attractive option for most I suspect. If you want disgruntled staff, put them and their families in poor accommodation - seems as if HCT DOESN'T intend going down that foolish path. Phew ......

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

They've just done so with the pseudo 12% increase for August.

The first week of July all staff received an email stating they had to agree to the "following amendments to their current contract" in order to "qualify" for the increase. This did not matter if you were in the beginning, middle or end of your current contract. Whether this tactic will be extended to housing remains to be seen (and, I would think it depends on whether the rental market continues to become increasingly more expensive).

Also, your housing allowance today does not cover increases in the future IF HCT does not increase the overall housing allowance for your particular emirate. What that means is (for example) if your housing allowance is 60,000 pa and your rent is 60,000 pa this year - should your landlord increase the rent next year - you either have to move, or you have to pay out of pocket unless the allowance is increased. Both are not popular, especially if you have a family and houseful of furniture to shift.

Odilo · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 15

If anyone can find a decent flat for the housing allowance that HCT provides, GOOD LUCK!!!

If you could speak to people in the real estate / flat rental business they will they you that for these amounts you will find nothing.Housing in Abu Dhabi has reached a near crisis situation with rents going up between 5000 to 10,000 UAE dirhams per month. So, a flat that was 85,000 in May is probably 110,000 today.

Once again... HCT demonstrates that it is an institution out of touch with reality and continually one step behing.... TO BE AVOIDED IF YOU ASK ME...

abudhabi · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 34

Odilo - I think you are missing the point - HCT find the housing, the staff don't. HCT already have the housing and they sign the contracts for 2 years or more. As it is the HCT the contracts are signed with, the rents cannot rise over what the law states - or the HCT could easily take the landlords to the rent committees. HCT don't just give up an apartment if a teacher moves out - they generally hang on to them even if they are empty - it is cheaper than finding a new one to rent at inflated rents. I know one teacher who left HCT, returned 6 months later and got her same apartment back as HCT had kept the apartment on their books even though it was empty all that time.

If individuals seek their own accommodation - I agree about the horror stories and know of several friends in dire straits because of the rent inflation.

Odilo · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 15

not really - you can either choose HCT housing or opt to find your own - a group of teachers at abu dhabi men's college - working for Cert - are being kicked out of their housing - about 20 teachers in all - they were put in a apartment building that one of the teacher's husbands found (a sleazy egyptian who apparently got money under the table for having found the buidling - shady dealings) - to make a long story short they've been given the options to a) go in HCT housing, which is getting worse and worse, smaller and smaller, cheaper and cheaper, b) find their own housing using the new housing allowance scale or c) after one,s probation is over, grab the cash.

well - housing is impossible to find - it,s increasing monthly .. at a scary rate (10,000 to 15,000 AED per month) so good luck finding a place on your own. Some teachers have opted for housing off the island... Baniyan, Shahama.... but that can be a long daily commute..

all is all, housing in the uae is reaching a crisis point... and i certainly would not be going there at this time... again...

AVOID HCT... at all costs... it,s not a good place to work... but some people just have to find out for themselves.. so good luck folks...

Odilo · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 15

Odilo - I think you are missing the point - HCT find the housing, the staff don't. HCT already have the housing and they sign the contracts for 2 years or more. As it is the HCT the contracts are signed with, the rents cannot rise over what the law states - or the HCT could easily take the landlords to the rent committees. HCT don't just give up an apartment if a teacher moves out - they generally hang on to them even if they are empty - it is cheaper than finding a new one to rent at inflated rents. I know one teacher who left HCT, returned 6 months later and got her same apartment back as HCT had kept the apartment on their books even though it was empty all that time.

The rents cannot rise? Obviously you have no UAE experience. Otherwise you would know that there are NO laws in this country... it,s wasta land... and anything can happen... the guys from Cert who got kicked out of their flats... well, renewing the leases wasn,t even an option. You see, my getting rid of tenants, the landlords can up the rent as much as they want.. even though it,s against the law..

are you starting to get the picture??

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Not really because your posts are very confused. From what I know, the vast majority of HCT teachers are in provided flats at this time and HCT is paying the rent, and those few who opted out to rent their own places took a risk that they didn't have to do.

There is also the fact that the Cert program is but one department of HCT which has had some eccentric problems of their own over the years.

You apparently had problems with your time at HCT, but most tend to muddle along just fine and are mostly satisfied. The housing issue may very well become very problematic in the next few years. But none of us know how it will work out. People who would be coming in as new hires this year should be in under the wire. Right now the new rules are mostly gossip and speculation.

VS

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

Housing is an issue for a few now, and probably more in the future. Rents have been raised (and are rising everywhere in UAE, especially in the larger cities) and people have been forced to move to accomodation that does not exceed the allowance or pay the extra out of pocket. While not earthshattering, who wants to move every year even if it is in the same general geographic area?

Is this widespread yet? No. But it is happening and with the prevailing rise in rents, it will happen more and more often IF HCT does not increase the allowances to keep pace with the market.

According to the VC, HCT is already 134million AED in debt. Not really all that much when you consider the petrodollars pouring into the country. The problem right now is that those dollars are not being sent HCT's way.

Odilo · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 15

you got it - big time in debt but HCt keeps getting loans from Union National Bank... and who owns it... you got it.... good old Sheikh

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Everything is owned by one Sheikh or another. The fact that HCT is in debt is totally irrelevant. The UAE is not run like any normal world economy. It is a country that is drowning in petrodollars... HCT is owned and run by the same people that own and run the banks, and own and run the oil and gas business, and own and run the Khalifa Foundation that owns and runs all the rental units in Abu Dhabi (for instance - this organization alone is worthy of an interesting book).

It is the right pocket owing money to the left pocket. It all comes down to one thing... is HCT willing to lose the majority of their good faculty and management because of excessive rents suddenly coming out of their employees' salaries.

They may give it a try and see if they can get away with it... but if they have any smarts in the Ministry of Higher Education, they will see that unless they want their whole system to turn into ADU or MLI, they have to compensate their people properly. The Sheikhs will just have to decide what their priorities are. When a barrel of oil plummeted to $10 a barrel, you could understand penny pinching, but at $74 a barrel??

VS

Odilo · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 15

SEE MY COMMENTS IN UPPER CASE..

Everything is owned by one Sheikh or another. The fact that HCT is in debt is totally irrelevant. The UAE is not run like any normal world economy. It is a country that is drowning in petrodollars... HCT is owned and run by the same people that own and run the banks, and own and run the oil and gas business, and own and run the Khalifa Foundation that owns and runs all the rental units in Abu Dhabi (for instance - this organization alone is worthy of an interesting book).

NOT TRUE - A LOT OF BUILDINGS ARE OWNED BY PRIVATES WHO ARE NOT SHEIKHS - BUT NO ONE COULD DISPUTE THE FACT THAT THE COUNTRY IS NOT RUN LIKE ANYTHING RESSEMBLING THE NORMAL WORLD - THE SAD THING IS, THE UAE COULD BE A VERY NICE PLACE BUT MONEY HAS RUINED IT... LIKE MONEY HAS A WAY OF DOING...

It is the right pocket owing money to the left pocket. It all comes down to one thing... is HCT willing to lose the majority of their good faculty and management because of excessive rents suddenly coming out of their employees' salaries.

OF COURSE IT IS - EXPATS ARE A REPLACABLE COMMODITY - AFTER ALL, THEY ARE JUST SLAVES AND THE TEA BOYS ARE PROBABLY BETTER TREATED THAN TEACHERS IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD...

They may give it a try and see if they can get away with it... but if they have any smarts in the Ministry of Higher Education, they will see that unless they want their whole system to turn into ADU or MLI, they have to compensate their people properly. The Sheikhs will just have to decide what their priorities are. When a barrel of oil plummeted to $10 a barrel, you could understand penny pinching, but at $74 a barrel?

SMARTS - I DON'T THINK YOU'LL FIND TOO MANY PEOPLE WITH SMARTS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD... IT'S ALL ABOUT SCREWING PEOPLE BECAUSE EVERYONE THERE... IS ONLY THERE FOR ONE THING... MONEY... SOUND PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES ARE TOTALLY FOREIGN TO ANY AND ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD.

HAVE FUN...