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 life-threatening health and safety deficiencies at the property for several years, and there had been separate concerns related to health and safety issues at this complex, which appear to have gone unaddressed and may have led to the fire. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD ensured that health and safety complaints associated with Multifamily Section 8-assisted housing were resolved in a timely manner.
HUD’s complaint process did not ensure that health and safety complaints were resolved in a timely manner. On average, it took 2.5 days to resolve the life-threatening health and safety issues reviewed, including 3 days to resolve a gas leak issue. It took an average of 17 days to resolve the non-life-threatening health and safety issues, including 175 days to resolve an infestation problem. For the purpose of this audit, we determined reasonable benchmark resolution times to be 24 hours for resolving life-threatening health and safety issues and 72 hours for non-life-threatening health and safety issues. This condition occurred because HUD did not have a standardized, effective process for monitoring, tracking, and resolving complaints in a timely manner. As a result, Multifamily housing tenants were, in some instances, faced with unhealthy and dangerous living environments for extended periods.
We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs (1) develop a comprehensive process to ensure that complaints received by the Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse are resolved in a timely manner; (2) develop agencywide policies and procedures for the intake, monitoring, and tracking of health and safety complaints; (3) develop an automated real-time system for receiving, tracking, and resolving health and safety issues; and (4) revise the annual contributions contract to more clearly define contractor and property management responsibilities and deadlines for resolving health and safety issues.
Recommendations
Housing
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Status2021-KC-0004-001-AOpenClosedPriorityPriority
We believe these open recommendations, if implemented, will have the greatest impact on helping HUD achieve its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
Develop a comprehensive process to ensure that complaints received by HUD’s Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse are resolved in a timely manner.
Status
In October 2023, the Office of Multifamily Housing reported that it had sought funding for system enhancements to coordinate tenant complaints. HUD is transitioning the Multifamily Clearinghouse responsibilities to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Resource Center. The FHA Resource Center has a system that will allow tracking and monitoring of customer calls. As of November 2024, the Office of Multifamily Housing requested closure of this recommendation because it did not receive requested funding for system enhancements, and its alternative action of using the FHA Resource Center to track and monitor customer calls did not work. HUD OIG will work with the Office of Multifamily on understanding the existing challenges and discuss alternative actions to address the recommendation.
Analysis
To fully address this recommendation, HUD needs to develop a comprehensive process to ensure that complaints received by HUD are resolved in a timely manner.
Implementation of this recommendation will result in timelier resolution of complaints submitted by those living in multifamily member housing units.
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Status2021-KC-0004-001-BOpenClosedPriorityPriority
We believe these open recommendations, if implemented, will have the greatest impact on helping HUD achieve its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
Develop agencywide policies and procedures for the intake, monitoring, and tracking of health and safety complaints.
Status
In October 2023, HUD stated that it will develop policies and procedures for Multifamily properties for the intake, monitoring, and tracking of health and safety complaints it receives. The Office of Multifamily Housing has not yet updated its policies and procedures. With no comprehensive, automated, real-time system in place, there was no direction to give the field staff, Multifamily Clearinghouse, or the Performance Based Contract Administrators other than what they were already doing. HUD was in the process of developing an automated monitoring system in the FHA resource center to allow tracking of individual calls and the call’s subject, such as health and safety. HUD missed the final action target date of December 31, 2022, and a new completion goal was set for February 2025. As of November 2024, the Office of Multifamily Housing requested closure of this recommendation because it did not receive requested funding for system enhancements, and its alternative action of using the FHA Resource Center to track and monitor customer calls did not work. HUD OIG will work with the Office of Multifamily on understanding the existing challenges and discuss alternative actions to address the recommendation.
Analysis
To fully address this recommendation, HUD must provide evidence that it has developed and implemented policies and procedures for the Multifamily properties for the intake, monitoring, and tracking of health and safety complaints it receives when using the FHA’s automated monitoring system.
Implementation of this recommendation will result in HUD having a more efficient process for taking in, monitoring, and tracking of health and safety complaints and aid HUD in more efficiently addressing those complaints.
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Status2021-KC-0004-001-COpenClosed
Develop an automated real-time system for HUD and PBCA staff to use to receive, track, and resolve health and safety issues.
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Status2021-KC-0004-001-DOpenClosed
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.