Revise the annual contributions contract to more clearly define the required treatment of health and safety issues, to include: • Specific timeliness requirements for resolving life-threatening and non-life-threatening health and safety issues. • Notification that HUD will actively monitor the status of complaints and become involved in resolution if necessary. • Requirement that PBCAs will immediately contact HUD staff if a property has a life-threatening or non-life-threatening health and safety issue and report when the issue is resolved. • Requirement that the projects’ property management will immediately contact PBCA staff if a property has a life-threatening or non-life-threatening health and safety issue and report when the issue is resolved.

Establish and implement a process to ensure that The Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ policies, procedures, and supervisory controls are effective. This process should include addressing postdisaster damage assessments, properly updating iREMS, and executing loan forbearances. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.

Establish and implement a process to ensure that the Office of Single Family Housing’s policies, procedures, and supervisory controls are effective. This process should address the proper use, maintenance, and reporting of gathered information on disaster-damaged properties as well as the proper assessment of properties with appropriate disaster codes. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

Require lenders to provide evidence of sufficient flood insurance or execute indemnification agreements for the 43 loans in our statistical sample that did not have sufficient flood insurance at the time of our audit to put nearly $5.2 million to better use.

Add to FHA databases the information necessary to ensure that the required flood insurance is in place at loan origination, including flood zone, flood insurance type, flood insurance amount, and site value of the property, and include system checks that prevent endorsement of loans without the required flood insurance to put at least $432.6 million to better use by avoiding potential future costs to the FHA insurance fund.

Implement the requirements of HUD’s current Debt Collection Handbook, to include (1) assigning a program office manager, (2) developing and implementing debt collection standard operating procedures, (3) designating program action officials, and (4) ensuring that program action officials are trained and perform debt collection duties in a timely manner in accordance with the Debt Collection Handbook; HUD Handbook 2000.06, REV-4, Audits Management System; and other pertinent guidance and policies to ensure the accurate reporting of receivables in the general ledger.

Review all executed repayment agreements in HUD’s Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS) to determine which repayment agreements have not been fully repaid and represent an amount owed to HUD and work with OCFO to record these receivables.

Include a field in TRACS to identify which repayment agreements represent an amount owed to HUD and implement controls to ensure the accuracy of the listing in TRACS.

Develop and implement controls to track and enforce repayments owed to HUD to ensure that owners are not delinquent on their repayment agreements.

Adequately notify homeowners that, due to COVID-19, all FHA refund applications and supporting documents should be sent electronically to avoid delay in processing. This process should include (1) developing and expediting implementation of correspondence sent to homeowners with the application, (2) a notice of operational changes on HUD’s FHA refunds websites, (3) ensuring that HUD’s Does HUD Owe You a Refund website is updated to the most recent FHA Homeowners Fact Sheet, (4) an updated voice message from the call center including an accurate email, and (5) developing an updated script for call center agents for the initial contact with the homeowner, follow up, and contact with homeowners who already submitted their application by mail.

Conduct a privacy impact assessment for accepting homeowner FHA refund applications and supporting documentation that contain PII electronically to identify potential risks and develop and implement plans to mitigate those risks.

Develop and implement written policies and procedures for SFIOD to quickly respond to emergency situations when staff cannot return to the office. Procedures should include steps to quickly notify homeowners of any changes made to the FHA refund process.

Conduct and make available internal HEROS training for all multifamily HEROS users on how to document the environmental review mitigation measures.

Establish and implement written procedures specifying which multifamily employees are required to upload mitigation resolutions after construction completion and at final endorsement.

Upload the 17 missing mitigation resolutions and the 1 missing radon testing document into HEROS for the projects in this finding.

Strengthen HEROS or internal procedures to add an additional requirement confirming that the mitigation resolutions have been uploaded at final endorsement.

Strengthen HEROS by adding a column on the dashboard to show the progress of the overall mitigation status.