We conducted this engagement in coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to gain an understanding of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fraud risk management practices and develop an inventory of fraud risks that HUD had not already identified for the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Community Development Block Grant (…

Based on a complaint and a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (HUD PIH), we audited the Bay City Housing Authority, Bay City, TX.  The complainant’s allegations included improper procurement of an attorney and board meetings held without proper notice.  HUD PIH expressed concerns regarding the Authority’s financial records and policy adherence.  Our audit objectives…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of voucher utilization and reallocation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program based on the HUD Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) report on HUD’s top management challenges for fiscal year 2020 and HUD’s strategic goals and objectives reported in its 2018-2022 strategic plan.  In addition, while responding to a congressional inquiry from Senator Chuck…

We audited lender reporting of COVID-19 forbearances for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in the Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS).  We compared default reporting data from SFDMS to loan data provided by five sampled servicing lenders that serviced a third of the FHA single-family portfolio.  Our audit objective was to determine whether COVID-19 forbearance data available in SFDMS were consistent with…

While some of HUD’s efforts to improve its hiring and human capital functions and reduce its average time-to-hire have been successful, HUD’s hiring process overall was not efficient.  HUD’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), which is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures associated with human capital management, set a goal to reduce the average time-to-hire but did not meet this goal. …

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ health and safety complaint process.  We conducted this audit due to a July 2019 explosion that occurred at the Calloway Cove Apartments, a Multifamily housing property in Jacksonville, FL, which resulted in a fire that injured several people.  HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center had identified…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, has completed its audit of the HUD’s disaster preparedness from 2005 to 2018.  We performed this audit due to an agreement with six other Inspectors General as part of a Disaster Assistance Working Group-Cross Cutting Functional Effort by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to determine to what extent the Federal…

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s (OCPO) administration of five procurement activities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  The CARES Act and related Office of Management and Budget memorandums gave HUD flexibility in modifying existing contracts and required rapid delivery of CARES Act funds.  Our…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) information technology (IT) modernization roadmap.  A significant number of HUD’s mission-essential applications have not been modernized, which presents multiple sources of risk.  These applications are hosted on legacy information systems and mainframe platforms, which are operationally inefficient, increasingly difficult to secure, and costly to maintain. …

We audited the City of Houston’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) 2015 program.  Under this program, the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2016 and 2017 made funds available for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization.  We audited this program based upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) information regarding the opportunity to promote a homeless waitlist preference at Multifamily Housing rental assistance properties.  HUD has an opportunity to revisit the promotion and marketing of its homeless waitlist preference and the importance of partnering with a homeless service provider.  Additionally,…

We audited the Harris County Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. We initiated this audit as part of our commitment to helping the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) address its top management challenges and to support HUD’s strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery. Further, Congress has expressed strong interest…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2020 compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) and other Office of Management and Budget guidance.  PIIA was enacted to prevent and reduce improper payments and requires each agency’s inspector general to perform an annual review of the agency’s compliance with PIIA.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD complied…

As of March 31, 2021, HUD had disbursed $3.4 billion and obligated $7.4 billion of its $12.4 billion in CARES Act funds.  Meanwhile, HUD has more than $1.6 billion in CARES Act funds unobligated.  These funds have various expiration dates.  For example, HUD has until September 30, 2021, to obligate $28 million of the remaining management and administration CARES Act funds and until September 30, 2022, to obligate more than $1.3 billion…

HUD does not have a departmentwide policy for dealing with radon contamination.  Instead, HUD relies on each program office to develop radon policies that align with HUD’s environmental regulations.  The three program offices reviewed do not have consistent radon policies.  Only Multifamily’s radon policy includes radon testing and mitigation requirements.  PIH’s policy strongly encourages but does not require public housing agencies (…

In June 2020, we received letters from members of Congress, including the chairpersons of the House Committee on Financial Services and Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, expressing concern that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) imposed a new, nonpublic, and legally erroneous policy that prohibited issuing Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA…

We audited rent credits that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) during fiscal years 2015 through 2018 in exchange for financial contributions for building improvements.  We initiated this audit due to concerns we identified while completing a review of HUD’s use of funds approved by Congress for building improvements.[1]  Our objective was to determine…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), has completed a survey of the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees.  Our objective was to determine the challenges that HUD and its CDBG-DR grantees are experiencing related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help inform the Office of Community…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Public and Indian Housing’s (PIH) Office of Field Operations’ (OFO) oversight of public housing agencies’ (PHA) compliance with implementing HUD’s smoke-free policy. We initiated the audit in accordance with our strategic plan and our vision to support HUD’s efforts to achieve quality and safer housing. Our objective was to determine whether OFO ensured…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with key considerations from prior audits of the HUD Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS) and the partial claim loss mitigation option.  These audits identified HUD’s lack of effective controls to ensure that lenders reported default information accurately and in a timely manner, lenders promptly filed…