Should I participate? What am I expected to do?

If you are a staff member in the professional and higher categories (P-1 to D-1 and/or L-1 to L-6), you are expected to complete the questionnaire and submit it promptly, in accordance with the instructions provided. If you do not belong to any of these categories, you are not required to participate in the survey.

How does the survey affect me?

Rental subsidy thresholds determine your subsidy entitlements. It is therefore in your direct interest to participate in this survey and to provide the requested information completely and accurately, thereby ensuring that the thresholds are measured precisely.

Why a Housing Survey?

The survey is being conducted to collect current rent information from staff for the purpose of updating rental subsidy thresholds at the 8 Headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C. Under the approved methodology, such surveys are conducted every 5 years, in the middle of the regular round of round of surveys (currently 2005-2010). This mid-round survey questionnaire is an abridged version of the regular housing and domestic costs survey questionnaire.

What is rental subsidy?

The rental subsidy scheme is designed to help staff members who pay significantly high rents as a proportion of their income, compared to the average prevailing among staff serving at the duty station. Actual entitlements are not the same for all staff members but rather calculated based on their net remuneration, the actual rent paid, and the rental subsidy threshold applicable to the duty station.

Other factors taken into consideration in the determination of the amount of subsidy include the maximum reasonable rents, which are established uniquely for a duty station by the organizations and are beyond ICSC’s jurisdiction.

The higher the rents paid as a proportion of net remuneration at a duty station, the higher the rental thresholds. At a duty station where the rent/income ratio is low on average, the threshold tends to be set at a relatively low level, and the staff members paying a higher-than-average rent would receive rental subsidy. In contrast, at a duty stations where the rent/salary ratio is high on average, the threshold tends to be set at a relatively high level, and the staff members may not qualify for rental subsidy unless their rents are significantly high.

What is post adjustment?

Post adjustment is an amount paid to staff in addition to net base salary, which is designed to ensure that no matter where United Nations common system staff work, their net remuneration has a purchasing power equivalent to that of their counterparts at the base of the system, New York. It is applicable to all United Nations common system international staff in the professional and higher categories. For more detailed explanation, see the Post Adjusment Manual..

What is the relationship between post adjustment and rental subsidy?

While both post adjustment and rental subsidy thresholds are influenced by housing costs at duty stations, there is no a direct functional relationship that links them. Nevertheless, upward movements of housing costs would likely trigger significant increases in both post adjustment and rental subsidy thresholds.