Relocation consultants are most frequently used by multi-national companies and larger institutions moving into the region.
Some consultants provide practical and cultural help to those new to the region. Culture shock is a real condition that affects many people unused to being outside their home country or culture. It can badly affect you in both your working and your family life.
Companies already operating in Qatar don’t usually require the services of consultants. (In a region whose workforce is largely foreign and transient, many companies and workers have long experience of moving and setting up in a new location.) However, employers are generally aware of the danger of culture shock and are ready to help when required.
The sensible newcomer spends the first few weeks of his contract settling in alone and doesn’t commit his family to a move to Qatar until he has obtained all the necessary permits, has completed his probationary period, if any, and is able to judge whether he’s going to enjoy the working and living conditions and whether his job is all that was promised. Note, however, that it can take three months or so to acclimatise to life in Qatar, where it’s normal to feel somewhat disorientated for the first few weeks.
Arab Homes
The indigenous and expatriate populations tend not to live together. The Arab culture of extended families calls for large houses, and affluent families usually own detached villas.
With up to three generations to accommodate, groups of two or more villas are common. The less well-off still prefer houses to apartments. The indigenous population in Qatar is well provided with housing. Young newly-married couples are given low-cost loans and in some states these turn out to be gifts if the loans aren’t repaid within a particular time limit.
Foreign workers tend to live in either compounds or apartments. The rapid development of the economy and the sudden influx of foreign workers meant that accommodation had to be constructed quickly, which meant that apartment blocks rather than individual houses were built. The term ‘compound’ refers to a group of houses or small, usually low-level, apartment blocks within a walled enclosure, rather like a private estate.
Some compounds are huge, and accommodation is usually available because of the continual movement of expatriates. Different compounds have different combinations of nationalities. Some have a cosmopolitan mix, others contain people from one nation only or perhaps from one social group or caste.
Depending on the size of the compound, the facilities may include a communal swimming pool, a restaurant and shop, tennis and squash courts and a gymnasium. Children might be catered for with a play area and there might be a form of community hall known as a majlis – the traditional Arab meeting area for visitors. Many compound houses are built in majlis style, with an area opening immediately from the front door where the men meet visitors and sit with them. The rest of the accommodation is to the sides or rear. (In Arab houses, women aren’t seen unless the visitors are close relatives.)
In Qatar there’s a mixture of villas and compound dwellings, the latter comprising mainly villas and townhouses, with a few low-rise apartment blocks.
Separate apartment blocks, which tend to be higher than those within compounds, usually contain a high proportion of expatriates. A disadvantage of these is that they generally lack the extensive facilities found in most compounds and there may be fewer English-speaking people to ‘show you the ropes’ than in a compound. On the other hand, compounds can be rather ghetto-like, with a claustrophobic ‘clubbiness’, isolation from the local community and a lack of privacy.
The exterior and interior quality of buildings is high throughout the region, and improving as prospective landlords vie with each other to have the most attractive buildings. The average property is also more spacious than its equivalent in Europe or the USA. Rooms are generally large in all types of accommodation. Villas normally have generous patios and/or gardens, while apartment blocks have a swimming pool and gymnasium. Homes normally also have a better level and quality of maintenance than in western countries, due to the wide availability of low-paid labour.
A garage or covered carport for your vehicle is vital. With temperatures rising to 50oC (122oF) in the summer, a car left outside quickly becomes unbearably hot and the bodywork deteriorates if exposed to the sun for too long. Most new apartment blocks have underground car parking facilities and allocated spaces. Villas tend to have an attached or separate garage, or at least a carport.
Rented Accommodation
The majority of property is rented unfurnished, whether it be a grand villa or a modest studio apartment.
‘Unfurnished’ might mean only the barest of essentials but is more likely to include a kitchen unit, curtain rails and lighting fixtures, or it might mean semi-furnished, with kitchen equipment, a cooker, refrigerator and washing machine. In most cases, it includes a television aerial socket with access to local stations and probably BBC and CNN via satellite; you might also have access to other networks and movie channels, although you might have to pay for them. There’s also furnished property on the market, but it is harder to find and of course more expensive. Most people want a new property and there are plenty of them available.
Renting accommodation in Qatar is a straightforward, well-established practice. Major international companies with trading links in the region often have housing arrangements in the form of long-term leases on properties for their staff. If you have to find your own accommodation, your sponsor and his staff will invariably help. There’s considerable choice in all price bands and it’s usually quite straightforward to find the type of property you want.
Having decided on a budget, you need to decide on the location of the property, weighing up the importance of access to your place of work, type and size of living space you want, whether villa or apartment, the number of bedrooms, etc.. Qatar’s cities are small by international standards and driving times between home and work are short, usually without substantial traffic jams.
There are a number of ways to find a rental property in Qatar, including the following:
- Consult your company’s human resources manager, work colleagues and friends. Word of mouth is usually the best recommendation in the region.
- Talk to members of any clubs and associations that you join.
- Check the notice boards outside accommodation blocks and look in the local English-language newspapers and magazines. Talk to porters or administration staff in the buildings that you like the look of. They will often know about the availability of accommodation.
- Consult estate agents. As well as having a wide knowledge of the market, area and costs, they generally provide transport and accompany you on viewings. Listen carefully to the proposed charges and in particular to the inclusions and exclusions, specifically the air-conditioning and utility charges. Ask for faxed confirmation before making a decision, and certainly before signing the contract. Estate agents are frequently the wives of sponsored expatriates, who have the time to get to know the area and the facilities on offer.
- Visit compounds, which frequently have an office of the company running it, and ask about availability and facilities.
Rental Costs
Rental costs vary enormously for villas of different sizes, some with swimming pools, others without, and between old and new apartment blocks, in good, bad and indifferent locations.
With plenty of new property being built, supply usually keeps pace with demand, and many Arabs are keen to rent property to expatriates, as it provides them with a regular, reliable income. Average monthly rents for good-quality unfurnished accommodation are shown below.
Type of Accommodation
|
Monthly Rent ($)
|
1-bedroom apartment
|
1,500–2,000
|
2-bedroom apartment
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2,000–3,000
|
3-bedroom apartment
|
3,000–3,600
|
2/3-bedroom villa
|
3,600–4,500
|
4+-bedroom villa
|
4,500+
|
Furnished accommodation costs around 25 per cent more than the figures quoted above, and short-term lets are charged at a higher rate than longer ones. Serviced apartments are available in all states, although not widely, and cost between 30 and 50 per cent more than unserviced apartments; services normally include cleaning, laundry and linen-changing.
Air-conditioning might be included in the rent or be charged separately as part of your electricity bill. If there's a communal gas tank, gas is usually included in the rent. Otherwise, you can buy gas bottles. Other utilities will be separate. (Water is usually charged as part of the electricity bill). You should check these items at the time of negotiation and on the contract. You or your sponsor must also pay a deposit against damage to the property or to items of furnishing provided.
Note also that some states impose a local tax (baladiya) on property to cover expenses such as refuse collection and road maintenance. Whether the landlord or the tenant pays is one of the matters to sort out in the contract, although normally the property owner bears the cost.
Rental Contracts
It’s usual for the rental contract to be drawn up with the owner of the property using your sponsor as the principal.
There are a number reasons for this:
- Long-term contracts are usually for a one-year period, while short-term ones are from one month upwards. With a transient expatriate population, owners prefer to deal with a permanent citizen of their country, i.e. your sponsor, in case there are disputes to be resolved.
- Contracts usually call for advance payment, one or two cheques being issued, one of which is post-dated six months ahead. In the case of employees, the standard practice is for their employers to make the rental payments and then deduct monthly sums from the employee’s wages.
- If the contract has to be terminated early, responsibility for doing so lies with the principal, which is, of course, in the interest of the expatriate. The owner might insist on his finding a replacement tenant, which can be difficult; your sponsor will be able to exert more influence with the owner than you would, particularly if the sponsor is a regular renter.
Note that changing your accommodation mid-contract is always tricky, so you should choose your accommodation carefully in the first place to avoid the necessity to move.
In most rental contracts, there’s a standard clause about returning the property in a reasonable condition, allowing for normal wear and tear. Any losses or damage must be made good. Anti-social behaviour such as noise or abuse of property will probably mean eviction. Expatriates are usually well-behaved, knowing that their hosts have little tolerance of bad or criminal behaviour.
Furnished apartments are equipped with a wide range of goods, usually of reasonable quality. A copy of the inventory will be provided with the contract and items checked when you leave, with charges made for damage or losses. The return of your deposit depends on whether or not the property is left in good order.
