We audited the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights’ fair housing complaint intake process.  We initiated this audit based on an internal risk assessment of Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies’ challenges.  Our audit objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which the Commission processed fair housing inquiries within 30 days and (2) evaluate its reasons for closing fair housing inquiries.We were unable to determine…

We audited the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Government’s tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) activity in its HOME Investment Partnerships and Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, based on a hotline complaint alleging inappropriate administration of TBRA.  In addition, we selected Louisville Metro for review in accordance with the Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine…

We audited the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program and compliance with requirements after the conversion.  We selected the Authority for review in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We audited the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our risk assessment of all Kentucky public housing agencies and as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program units in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements. The…

We audited the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s (Commonwealth) administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) based on a referral from the Louisville, KY, Office of Community Planning and Development and in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Commonwealth administered its NSP1 and NSP3 grants in accordance with HUD’s…

We audited the City of Chattanooga’s Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program.  We selected the City for review in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements. The City did not always administer its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements.  Specifically, it did not ensure that program…

We audited the Louisville Metro Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our risk assessment of all Kentucky public housing agencies and as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program units in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements.  The…

We audited the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Government’s Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program.  We selected Louisville Metro for review based on a management referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Louisville, KY, Office of Community Planning and Development and in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether…

We audited Shelby County’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant.  We selected the County for review in accordance with our annual audit plan and because the County received more than $7.4 million in funding to recover from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that occurred in April 2011.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the County ensured that (1) funds were…

We audited the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation program for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  We selected the Corporation based on our analysis of risk factors of single-family loan servicers in Region 4’s jurisdiction.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Corporation accurately reported the…

We reviewed the disbursement of project funds for seven of the Sections 202 and 811 supportive housing projects for the elderly and persons with disabilities managed by Taliafaro, Inc.  We initiated the audit under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether Taliafaro used project funds appropriately and operated…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, in conducting a review of First Tennessee has its principal place of business in Memphis, TN and is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Horizon Financial Corporation.  First Tennessee became an FHA-approved direct…

We audited the Memphis, TN, Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 audit plan.  We selected the Authority because it had a large program, receiving about $40 million in yearly funding, and was part of the OIG’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority’s inspection process adequately ensured that its units were in material compliance…

We audited Peoples Home Equity, Inc.(Peoples), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Brentwood, TN.  We selected Peoples based on its high default rates.  The audit was part of our annual audit plan to review single family programs and lenders.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Peoples complied with HUD requirements when it originated and…

We audited the City of Memphis’ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program-funded Housing and Rehabilitation Program (HARP) as part of the activities in our 2013 fiscal year annual audit plan and based on a referral from the Office of Inspector General’s Office of Investigation.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City used its CDBG and HOME funds for eligible activities and…

We audited the Shelby County Housing Authority in Memphis, TN, based upon an audit request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General for Investigation. The request included many areas of concern for both public housing operations and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program administration. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with HUD requirements for…

HUD OIG audited the City of Memphis’ administration of its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) and Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) funds received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We selected the City for audit because it received more than $3.3 million in HPRP funds and more than $2.1 million in CDBG-R funds, the most for any Tennessee city. The City had expended more than…

We reviewed the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Government’s administration of its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) and Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) program. We selected Louisville Metro for review because it received the largest grants in Kentucky with the exception of the State of Kentucky, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had not conducted…

We reviewed the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s (Agency) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). We selected the Agency for review because it received, in a consortium established with The Housing Fund, Urban Housing Solutions, and Woodbine Community Organization, a nearly $30.5 million NSP2 grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Agency was the only NSP2 grant recipient in Tennessee.…

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by First Tennessee Bank, N.A. (First Tennessee), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of our Operation Watchdog initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim rates against the FHA insurance…