Develop and implement controls to ensure that employees comply with its computer, internet, and email use policy and use only official business email accounts to transmit confidential information.

Develop and implement controls to ensure that its Section 8 coordinator is adequately trained and supervised to ensure that the program operates in accordance with requirements.

Follow its administrative plan to ensure that program requirements are met.

Provide technical assistance to the Authority to ensure that it properly administers its program and that program regulations are met.

Evaluate the Authority’s email system and its computer, internet, and email use policy to determine whether they provide sufficient safeguards for transmitting and handling confidential information.

Reimburse its program $119,023 from non-Federal funds for the ineligible housing assistance payments it made due to the conflict-of-interest situation identified by the audit and any additional ineligible housing assistance payments it made outside our review period.

Develop and implement controls to prevent and detect conflict-of-interest situations.

Develop a method for using the Do Not Pay portal during the underwriting process to identify delinquent child support and delinquent Federal debt to prevent future FHA loans to ineligible borrowers to put $1.9 billion to better use.

Status

The Office of Housing has approved prioritization of funding for Integration between the Treasury’s Do Not Pay portal and HUD’s Computerized Homes Underwriting Reporting System (CHUMS). Funding was allocated to the CHUMS IT contractor on January 26, 2024, to integrate Treasury’s Do Not Pay system with CHUMS, and the IT development project was kicked off the week of February 5, 2024. As of February 2025, the Office of Single Family Housing reported that it is in the process of completing the necessary documentation and systems connection with the Do Not Pay portal. Single Family plans to submit an update on the system interface project or request another extension in March 2025.

Analysis

To fully address this recommendation, HUD must provide evidence that it has implemented applicant screening against the Do Not Pay portal to identify delinquent child support and delinquent federal debt to prevent future FHA loans from going to ineligible borrowers.

Implementation of this rule should result in HUD putting $1.9 billion to better use.

Revise the single-family handbook to comply with regulations that prevent loans to borrowers with delinquent child support subject to Federal offset.

Schedule the timely renewal of data-sharing agreements to prevent data loss in CAIVRS or discontinue use of the system if implementation of 1A makes CAIVRS unnecessary.

Strengthen current written policies on occupancy requirements for subsidized multifamily housing programs to ensure that prospective tenants do not improperly bypass waiting lists.

Repay HUD for improperly filed partial claims and incentive fees totaling $1,053,688.

Work with HUD to ensure the release of the liens on the 66 properties with improper partial claims.

Perform an internal review of all FHA-HAMP partial claims that were combined with loan modifications to determine their eligibility and report the results to HUD for repayment of improperly filed partial claims.

Certify, along with the owners of the 63 units cited in this finding, that the applicable housing quality standards violations have been corrected.

Reimburse its program $29,226 from non-Federal funds ($27,737 for housing assistance payments and $1,489 in associated administrative fees) for the 22 units that materially failed to meet HUD’s housing quality standards.

Develop and implement procedures and controls to ensure that program units meet housing quality standards and inspectors are adequately trained to perform inspections, thereby ensuring that an estimated $1,241,550 in program funds is spent for units that are decent, safe and sanitary.

Reimburse its program $3,822 from non-Federal funds for housing assistance payments that should have been abated.

Reimburse five owners $267 for the excess housing assistance payments it abated.

Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that extensions granted to owners to make repairs after failed inspections comply with HUD regulations.