We performed a review of the San Diego Square (Square) project in response to a hotline complaint. The complainant stated that San Diego Kind Corporation (Corporation) misappropriated a lease prepayment of $480,060 and HUD failed to enforce program rules and regulations after detecting the misappropriation. Our objective was to determine whether the complaint was valid. We were unable to determine whether the allegations were valid. The...

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) audited the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Supplemental I and II Disaster Recovery program funds, administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Specifically, we wanted to determine whether TDHCA administered the floodplain management program as required by federal, state,...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Richmond’s (Authority) procurement activities. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority followed procurement requirements. We found that the Authority could not adequately support that procurement activities were conducted in accordance with applicable requirements. As a result, it could not demonstrate that contracts were awarded to vendors whose proposals were most advantageous to...

We completed a capacity review of the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission’s (County) Neighborhood Stabilization Program. We performed the audit because Housing and Economic Recovery Act reviews were part of the Office of the Inspector General’s annual audit plan and the program was identified as high risk. In addition, the County was awarded significant Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds of $16.8 million. Our objective...

The City of Fort Worth (City) is scheduled to receive $10.85 million in Recovery Act funding. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a memorandum on the City’s capacity to administer these funds. We reported the City had a history of failing to meet regulatory requirements in an efficient or timely manner. The City needs to strengthen its capacity to adequately administer recovery...

We audited the State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (State) to determine the basis and method used to allocate its $145 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant funds. Our objective was to determine whether the methodology the State used in allocating its NSP grant funds was logical, equitable, and in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The State...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD) Office of Inspector General has issued a memorandum on the Travis County (Texas) Housing Authority’s (Authority) capacity to administer Recovery Act funds. The memorandum reports that the Authority lacks capacity to administer ARRA public housing capital funds. The OIG recommended that HUD increase monitoring and oversight of the Authority’s financial and program activities, and either...

We audited the Housing Authority of Travis County (Authority) due to several problem indicators including the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) rejecting the Authority’s 2005 and 2006 audited financial statements and noting that the Authority’s 2007 financial statements contained $4.1 million in interprogram transfers and a negative $579,783 administrative fee reserve. Our objectives were to determine (1) whether the...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The Authority was selected based on its having received low housing quality standards indicator scores for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 under HUD’s Section Eight Management Assessment Program in addition to a lack of recent on-site reviews by HUD. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority conducted housing...

We reviewed the City of Oakland’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program to determine whether it administered its program in accordance with federal requirements and its own policies and procedures. We selected the City for review due to its large annual HUD funding and because it had not been the subject of an OIG audit for several years. The City did not always administer its HOME program in accordance with federal requirements and its own...

We audited the City of Baldwin Park Housing Authority’s (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program. We conducted the audit because the Authority received a “near troubled” status and scores of zero on five Section Eight Management Assessment Program indicators for fiscal year 2007. The objective was to determine whether the Authority determined housing assistance payments correctly and completed annual reexaminations in a timely manner. The...

We audited Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation (Financial Freedom) as part of our annual audit plan objective of improving the integrity of single-family insurance programs. Our objective was to determine whether Financial Freedom complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) origination requirements for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, commonly known as a reverse mortgage. Financial Freedom generally...

We audited the Culver City Housing Agency’s (Agency) administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list and housing assistance payment calculations. We initiated this review based upon information we received regarding waiting list administration and potential tenant eligibility issues. The Agency’s ongoing lease-up deficiency and lack of monitoring visits by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)...

We audited the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (City) as the result of problems noted during a prior audit involving HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)-funded activities administered by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (subrecipient), which was not adequately monitored by the City, compounded by concerns stemming from various newspaper articles related to the Marlton Square project, which included the...

We conducted an audit of the City of Houston’s (City) Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which is managed by its Housing and Community Development Department (Department), as part of our strategic plan and regional goals. Our objective was to determine whether the City and its project sponsors complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOPWA regulations, requirements and its grant agreements....

We selected the Tarrant County Community Development Division (Tarrant County) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) for review because the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's management expressed concerns about Tarrant County's HOME program. The objectives were to determine Tarrant County's (1) compliance with HOME regulatory requirements, (2) eligibility of HOME...

As part of our strategic plan objective to assist the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to reduce rental assistance overpayments, we audited the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso's (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program (program). The purpose of our audit was to determine whether the Authority properly administered its overall program. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the Authority...

We completed a financial review of the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles' (Authority) Section 8 program. We initiated the review in response to several citizen complaints alleging mismanagement, waste, and abuse of U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 funding, including the use of Section 8 funds to pay the costs of non-Section 8 programs. Our objective was to determine the validity of the above...

We audited Stonebrook Apartments Phase I and Phase II (projects) to determine whether the projects' owners complied with the regulatory agreements and U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the owners (1) made unauthorized distributions of project funds when the projects were in a non-surplus-cash position, (2) fully funded the tenant security deposit accounts, and (...

We audited the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (Department) as a result of an earlier audit of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) affordability monitoring requirements and inspections of HOME-assisted rental units, which detected four projects that may not have been rehabilitated as intended. Our audit objective was to determine whether HOME funds were used as intended to rehabilitate the four projects and in accordance with...