Some of you guys seems to forget what the housing allowance is for. Salaries in Dubai are slitted in basic salary and allowances. The basic salary is the end of contract compensation reference as all other allowances are not taken into account. Employers will generally add as much allowances as they can in order to reduce the basic share. Allowances are generally not paid during paid leaves, except the housing (basic + housing). As a result the housing allowance is not restrictive and it doesn't mean it has to be used for housing. It's just a name for this share of package. You basically have to consider the whole package and how much you would be ready to use for housing.