WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report about HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center’s (REAC) process for inspecting the physical conditions of public housing units.

REAC provides HUD staff and program participants with information about HUD’s affordable housing portfolio by assessing different aspects of public and multifamily housing properties, including, among other things, the physical condition of public and multifamily housing units.

HUD previously overhauled its inspection protocols by adopting the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) and identified 800 public housing properties to test the new NSPIRE inspection process. REAC developed its “Big Inspection Plan” to inspect all public housing and multifamily properties by March 31, 2023, under a phased approach, which included inspecting the 800 properties approved for participation under the NSPIRE demonstration. 

HUD OIG’s audit determined that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, REAC was not consistently inspecting public housing properties within the timeframes required by Federal regulations.  HUD OIG also found that REAC did not meet the phase benchmarks necessary to successfully complete its “Big Inspection Plan” by the March 31, 2023, deadline. HUD OIG’s audit report includes two recommendations that may improve HUD’s procedures and controls to ensure REAC inspects public housing properties within the required timeframes and inspects all high priority public housing properties. 

“Timely REAC inspections are an essential tool in protecting the health and well-being of HUD-assisted households,” said Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis.  “HUD OIG will continue to conduct influential oversight work that promotes decent, safe, and sanitary housing for communities who rely on HUD-assisted housing programs.”  

Anyone with information about environmental hazards and unsafe unit conditions in HUD housing should contact the HUD OIG Hotline at 1-800-347-3735 or reporting online at https://www.hudoig.gov/hotline. For media inquiries, contact us at [email protected].

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