HRA: House Rent Allowance on Shared Accommodation

No.E(P&A)II/2024/HRA-2, dated 12.04.2024

Sub: Entitlement of HRA in case of shared accommodation.

Recently in a vigilance case, one of the allegations was regarding allotment of Railway quarters on sharing basis and allowing one staff to draw HRA. It was observed that it is a violation of Para 1706 and Para 1712 of IREC Vol-II. It emerged that some of the employees were allowed to share accommodation with allottees and that HRA was paid to Railway servant who shares railway accommodation as per Para 1706 (i) of IREC on the ground that HRA can be paid to the officials sharing Railway accommodation with original allottees and those original allottees are not getting HRA. Therefore, there is no irregularity in this regard and it was also argued that as full rent was recovered there was no loss to Railways.

In connection with above, attention is invited to provisions of Para 1706 of IREC- II Sixth Edition – 1987 (Second Reprint) 2005 reproduced below:

1706. (a)(i) House Rent Allowance shall not be granted to a Railway employee if:-

(a)   he does not incur any expenditure on rent for his accommodation;

(b)   he occupies accommodation provided by the Government;

(c)    he shares Government accommodation allotted rent-free to another Government servant;

(d)   he/she resides in accommodation allotted to his/her parents/ son/ daughter by the Central Government/ State Government, an autonomous public undertaking or Semi-Government organization such as a Municipalty, Port Trust, ationalized Banks, Life Insurance Corporation of ndia etc. and

(e)   his wife/her husband has been allotted accommodation at the same station by the Central Government State Government, an autonomous publc undertaking or semi-Government organization such as municipality Port Trust etc. whether he/she resides in that accommodation or he/she resides separately in accommodation rented by him/her.

(ii)    A Railway servant who shares Government accommodation allotted to another Railway/ Government employee (excluding those specified in (c), (d) and (e) of sub-rule (i) above shall be eligible for House Rent Allowance.

NOTE:- In cases where husband/ wife/ parents/ children-two or more of them being Central Government servants or employees of State Governments, autonomous public undertakings or semi Government organizations like Municipality, Port Trust, Nationalized Banks, Life Insurance Corporation of India etc, share accommodation allotted to another Government servant, house rent allowance will be admissible to only one of them, at their choice.

The term ‘accommodation’ includes the accommodation allotted to the employees of State Governments, autonomous public undertakings, semi-Government organizations such as Municipality, Port Trust etc.

The provisions of para 1706 (ii) of IREC-II are not to be read in isolation but the same need to be read in conjunction with exceptions contained in para 1706 (c), (d) and (e) of sub-rule (i) and paras 1706 (a) and (b) of sub rule (i) given above meaning thereby that HRA is not admissible to an official if,

(i) he does not incur any expenditure on rent for his accommodation;

(ii) he occupies accommodation provided by the Government.

The above provisions are reiterated to Zonal Railways for necessary compliance.

Download Railway Board Circular dated 12.04.2024

Forward reference ⇒ RBE No.