As per a notification from the Ministry of Housing and Works, the updated rental ceilings for federal ministries, divisions, attached departments, and subordinate offices will apply in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar.
Under the new rates, the rent ceiling for grade 22 employees has been elevated to Rs142,743 per month in Islamabad and Rs125,989 per month in other cities (the four provincial capitals and Rawalpindi), up from the previous Rs98,444 and Rs89,230 per month, respectively.
For grade 21 employees, the rent ceiling has increased from Rs82,261 per month to Rs119,278 in Islamabad, and from Rs71,107 to Rs98,378 per month in other cities.
Similarly, for grade 20, the new ceiling is Rs99,615 per month in Islamabad, up from Rs68,700, and Rs82,696 per month in other cities, compared to the previous Rs59,079.
Grade-19 officials will now receive Rs79,320 in Islamabad and Rs65,542 in other cities, up from Rs54,704 and Rs46,816 per month, respectively.
For grades 17 and 18, the ceiling has been adjusted to Rs59,669 per month in Islamabad and Rs49,808 in other cities, compared to the previous rates of Rs41,147 and Rs35,898, respectively.
For employees in grades 14 to 16, the new rate is Rs45,073 per month in Islamabad and Rs37,665 per month in other cities, up from the current Rs31,085 and Rs27,134 per month, respectively.
Officials in grades 11-13 will now be able to receive up to Rs35,878 per month in Islamabad and Rs30,815 in other cities, compared to the existing Rs24,744 and Rs21,462 per month.
The new rental ceiling for grades 7 to 10 is set at Rs23,784 per month in Islamabad and Rs20,112 per month in other cities, up from the previous Rs16,403 and Rs14,682, respectively.
Employees in grades 3 to 6 will now receive Rs15,921 per month in Islamabad and Rs13,230 in other cities, compared to the previous Rs10,980 and Rs9,654.
The rent for grade 1 and 2 employees will now be Rs10,192 per month in Islamabad and Rs9,590 per month in other cities, up from Rs7,029 and Rs6,591 per month, respectively.
An official indicated that these revised rates were established based on market surveys and requests from various government employee groups.
The updated rental rates will apply to both new hires and cases where the employee must cover any rent difference out-of-pocket. In such instances, the rent may be increased up to the owner's demand at the time of hiring or the occupant's revised ceiling, whichever is lower.
These enhanced rates will also apply to properties rented under the Accommodation Allocation Rules, 2002, or the decentralized system of house rent, updated on July 31, 2004, for leases that have expired.
In these cases, lease agreements will be finalized based on the current rental assessment, the occupant’s revised ceiling, or the owner's demand, whichever is lower.
