We audited the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) it had a large program receiving more than $82 million in fiscal year 2015, (2) it had the second largest number of housing choice vouchers of non-Moving to Work housing agencies within the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia region, and (3) we had not audited its program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Commission ensured that its Housing Choice Voucher program units met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) housing quality standards.

The Commission did not always conduct adequate inspections to ensure that its program units met housing quality standards.  Of 75 program units inspected, 56 did not meet HUD’s housing quality standards.  Further, 15 of the 56 were in material noncompliance with housing quality standards.  The Commission disbursed $44,584 in housing assistance payments and received $303 in administrative fees for these 15 units.  We estimate that over the next year, if the Commission does not implement adequate procedures to ensure that its program units meet housing quality standards, HUD will pay more than $7.5 million in housing assistance for units that materially fail to meet those standards.

We recommend that HUD require the Commission to (1) reimburse its program $44,887 from non-Federal funds for the 15 units that materially failed to meet HUD’s housing quality standards and (2) implement procedures and controls to ensure that program units meet housing quality standards.