We completed an evaluation of HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) and its nonprofit affiliated Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) and their processing of housing discrimination complaints. The objective of our evaluation was to determine whether FHEO and FHAP intake and investigation processes are timely completed, consistently thorough, and accurately reported in the Title VIII Automated Paperless Tracking Office System (TEAPOTS). Our evaluation follows prior work conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that addressed similar program management issues. In its October 2005 report (GAO-06-79) the Government Accountability Office found deficiencies in processing timeliness, documentation sufficiency, and the data integrity of TEAPOTS and recommended corrective actions to improve performance.

Based on our tests of random samples of FHEO and FHAP investigations nationwide, we found evidence of the same or similar processing deficiencies noted in the GAO report. Our tests covered fair housing investigations opened and conducted during two periods subsequent to the GAO review, January through June 2006 and October through December 2007. Consequently, although several compliance improvements were noted, we recommend that HUD conduct aggressive monitoring and appropriate tests of current case documentation compliance with the Fair Housing Act, related regulations, and Handbook guidelines.