In 2016, we began a series of audits in accordance with our goal to review the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) multifamily housing programs.  We issued five reports detailing violations found at Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) properties in HUD’s Southwest Region.  This assignment is a rollup of those five reports.  In addition, we reviewed HUD’s controls to ensure that its housing assistance…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) funding allotment for tenant protection assistance at the Vineville Christian Towers (project) related to a housing conversion action and its approval of the project’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion.  The review was initiated as a result of internal issues identified during an external audit of the project’s RAD conversion. The objective was…

The Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has not referred troubled public housing agencies (PHAs) to the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing to take them over as the law and regulations require.  Without this referral mechanism, a PHA could remain troubled for an indefinite period while conditions stagnate or deteriorate.  We identified 18 PHAs that remained troubled for more than 2 years without being referred PIH…

We audited Community Action North Bay’s Continuum of Care Program based on hotline complaints (HC-2016-2275 and HT-2019-1142) and concerns expressed by the San Francisco Office of Community Planning and Development that included matching noncompliance issues.  The complaints alleged improper accounting, timekeeping irregularities, unreported program income, and conflicts of interest.  Our objective was to determine whether the…

We audited the Wausau Community Development Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program based on our analysis of risk factors related to the public housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction (States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin).  The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2019 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in…

We audited Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corporation based on information we received indicating that Del Norte may have violated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships program rules during the demolition of one of its low- to moderate-income rental developments. Our objective was to determine whether Del Norte properly transferred, stopped, modified, or extended the availability of…

We audited Vineville Christian Towers’ (project) Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the project’s RAD conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher Program was completed in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements; specifically, whether Christian Church Homes of North California (…

We reviewed the Bogalusa Housing Authority’s public housing programs based on the activities included in our annual audit plan and because the Authority has not been audited in more than 15 years.  The objective of our review was to determine whether the Authority administered its public housing programs in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements. The Authority did not always…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, MD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program because we received a complaint alleging that the Authority (1) ignored discrepancies between income information for applicants and program participants and (2) did not properly administer its program.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…

We audited the Municipality of Yauco’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of our strategic plan.  We selected this auditee because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classified the Municipality as a high-risk grantee in its 2017 risk assessment review.  Our objective was to determine whether the Municipality complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions related to the…

We audited the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ (State) Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program because the State was the largest recipient of CDBG funds in New England.  HUD awarded the State more than $88 million in CDBG funding for program years 2015, 2016, and 2017.  In addition, we had not audited any of the State’s community planning and development programs in the last 10 years.  Our audit objective was…

We audited the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Housing Choice Voucher Program.  We selected HPD for review based on its size and because we had not conducted an audit of its Housing Choice Voucher Program.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether HPD ensured that its program units met HUD’s housing quality standards and whether it abated housing assistance payments when required.…

We audited the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s use of public housing operating and capital funds because (1) we received a hotline complaint alleging that the Authority mismanaged its procurement activities and improperly awarded an internet services contract for more than $200,000 without receiving competitive bids and (2) we had never audited the Authority.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority…

We audited PK Management, LLC, based on (1) media coverage of problems associated with Essex Village, an apartment complex in Virginia that it managed, and (2) issues identified in our prior audit of PK Management in Birmingham, AL.  Our audit objective was to determine whether PK Management assisted eligible tenants and maintained documentation to support the housing assistance payments it received for residents of the properties it…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Easton, PA’s Housing Choice Voucher Program because (1) we received a complaint alleging that the Authority made improper payments to program participants and a consultant to the Authority inappropriately placed herself on the program waiting list and (2) we had never audited the Authority.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with…

We audited the city of Dallas’ management of its community housing development organizations (CHDO).  We performed this audit because of our previous audit work on the City’s Home Investment Partnerships program.  During that audit, we concluded that the City did not follow HOME regulations and its own policies and procedures in its reconstruction program or the administration of its match contributions, resulting in more than $4.2…

We audited the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grants as part of our annual audit plan because the Department received more than $57 million in NSP1 and NSP3 funding.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Department administered its NSP1 and NSP3 grants in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements. The Department did not administer…

We audited the multifamily Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program at the Northline Point Apartments.  We selected Northline Point in accordance with our goal to review the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) multifamily housing programs and because of a request from HUD to audit the property based on extensive findings from its project-based contract administrator’s management and occupancy review.…

We audited the Weslaco Housing Authority, Weslaco, TX, based on a referral to our office concerning issues with the Authority’s process for awarding its 2014 legal services contract.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority procured its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher Program- and operating subsidy-funded legal services contract in accordance with Federal, State, and Authority…

We audited the City of Bridgeport CT’s HOME Investment Partnerships program based on an Office of Inspector General risk assessment, which ranked the City as the second highest risk HOME grantee in New England.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City properly committed and disbursed HOME funds in accordance with Federal and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. City officials…