The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) development of requirements documents is a collaboration across HUD program offices.  The Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) is responsible for obtaining all goods and services required by HUD efficiently and in the most cost-effective manner possible, while program offices are responsible for preparing the requirements documents and submitting an actionable…

We performed an audit of Carrington Mortgage’s compliance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for foreclosures that started in 2022. Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as extended by the Secretary, from March 18, 2020, through July 31, 2021, there was a pause on new and ongoing foreclosures for FHA single‐family mortgages for homes that remained occupied. We selected…

We performed an audit of MidFirst’s compliance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for foreclosures that started in 2022.  Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as extended by the Secretary, from March 18, 2020, through July 31, 2021, there was a pause on new and ongoing foreclosures for FHA single‐family mortgages for homes that remained occupied. We selected MidFirst…

HUD’s Office of Housing contracts with performance-based contract administrators to administer the housing assistance payments (HAP) contract with owners.  Through RAD, HUD oversees the HAP contracts for converted properties and monitors owners for compliance with HUD’s requirements, which include maintaining (1) units in decent, safe, and sanitary condition and (2) reserve for replacement accounts to help defray the cost of…

We obtained the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) two nondisclosure policies and two nondisclosure forms applicable to HUD employees.  We also obtained 13 nondisclosure agreements between HUD and HUD employees.  The nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements did not include the anti-gag provision as required by the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) of 2012.  HUD had not ensured…

The OIG evaluated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) progress in applying zero trust security principles to protect personally identifiable information (PII).  HUD maintained a significant number of records that contain PII with limited zero trust controls in place to secure these data.  In FY 2022, HUD established a zero trust implementation plan to help the agency address the five zero trust…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted penetration testing concurrently with our fiscal year 2024 Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) evaluation. The objective of the penetration testing evaluation was to test the technical implementation of a limited set of security controls for a selection of HUD information systems and applications: the Office…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Office of Asset Sales’ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)‐Held Vacant Loan Sales (HVLS) program. The audit objective was to assess the extent to which HUD tracks and measures its loan sales’ program success and its achievement of mission outcomes as they relate to the Affordable Housing Action Plan.  HUD did not have adequate information to measure its loan…

To promote equal opportunity and identify and eliminate discriminatory practices, Federal regulation mandates that agencies review and respond to all employment-related discrimination complaints.  At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Office of Departmental Equal Employment Opportunity (ODEEO) is responsible for the enforcement of Federal laws related to eliminating all forms of discrimination in HUD’s…

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of Sikich CPA LLC to audit the financial statements of HUD as of and for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2024 and 2023, and to provide reports on HUD’s (1) internal control over financial reporting and (2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters, including whether financial management systems complied substantially with the…

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm Sikich CPA LLC to audit the financial statements of Ginnie Mae as of and for the years ending September 30, 2024 and 2023, and to provide reports on Ginnie Mae’s (1) internal control over financial reporting and (2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters.  Our contract with Sikich required that the audit be performed in…

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of Sikich CPA LLC to audit the financial statements of FHA as of and for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2024 and 2023, and to provide reports on FHA’s (1) internal control over financial reporting and (2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters.  Our contract with Sikich required that the audit be performed in accordance…

The OIG evaluated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Housing’s (Housing) progress in applying zero trust security principles to protect personally identifiable information (PII) within the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Catalyst system.HUD was in the beginning stages of implementing zero trust requirements for the data and identity pillars. HUD Office of Housing systems, including FHA Catalyst,…

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) directs Inspectors General to conduct an annual evaluation of the agency information security program. FISMA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) establish information technology (IT) security guidance and standards for Federal agencies. We conducted this evaluation to…

The purpose of this memorandum is to alert the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to an issue that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), has identified that affects the timeliness with which public housing agencies (PHA) with units that have lead-based paint are performing required lead-based paint visual assessments.HUD OIG audited, among other issues, whether three of the nation’s largest…

As of January 2024, 85 percent of HUD employees had approved telework agreements, and 9 percent had approved remote work agreements.  HUD estimated that 31 percent of remote employees were remote as a reasonable accommodation.  Most of HUD’s remote workers served in a limited number of occupations.  We evaluated the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer’s (OCHCO) controls over the quality of data related to…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity’s (FHEO) challenges in completing housing discrimination investigations within 100 days.  We initiated the audit due to the number of investigations reported in FHEO’s annual reports to Congress that exceeded 100 days.  Our objective was to survey and assess the challenges FHEO faces in completing investigations…

 The Geospatial Data of 2018 (the Act) governs the collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, distribution, use, and preservation of geospatial data of covered agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to meet the geospatial data requirements stated in the Act.  The Act requires the Inspector…

We audited HUD and its grantees’ monitoring of subrecipients and contractors in HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (ESG-CV) program to assess subrecipient monitoring in the program.  ESG and ESG-CV grantees often rely on subrecipients and contractors to carry out ESG-CV-funded activities on behalf of the grantees, and are required to monitor subrecipients to ensure that the…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD or Department) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity’s (FHEO) process for conducting civil rights compliance reviews.  FHEO’s operational readiness to carry out robust compliance reviews is critical to HUD’s goals to advance equity and support underserved communities.  Our objective was to survey and assess challenges FHEO faced in conducting…