State of California, 2018 Disasters Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program
We selected the State of California’s 2018 disaster owner-occupied rehabilitation and reconstruction program to audit after an internal risk assessment of disaster grantees showed the grant was newer and had not yet disbursed the majority of its funding. The State received more than $1 billion for the 2018 disasters. Our audit objective was to determine what the State is considering and to what extent resilience-based mitigation…
July 13, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-1004
Nationstar Generally Did Not Meet HUD Requirements When Providing Loss Mitigation to Borrowers of Delinquent FHA-Insured Loans
We audited Nationstar Mortgage, LLC’s (doing business as Mr. Cooper (Nationstar)) compliance with the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) requirements for providing loss mitigation assistance to borrowers after their COVID-19 forbearance ended. We concurrently conducted a nationwide audit of servicers’ compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) COVID-19 loss mitigation requirements (HUD Office of Inspector…
June 13, 2023
Report
#2023-KC-1001
The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s Administration of Its Non-Federal Match Program Had Weaknesses
We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s Non-Federal Match Program for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. This Match Program was developed to assist non-Federal entities in paying for their share of projects that addressed unmet needs because of the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria. We initiated this audit due to the $415 million of CDBG-DR funds allocated by the Authority and to…
June 12, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-1002
Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Ineffectively Monitored CDBG-DR Activities
We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s monitoring of its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)-funded activities. We initiated the audit because of the large amount of CDBG-DR funds awarded to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2017 disasters and to aid in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster…
June 12, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-1003
HUD’s Oversight of CDBG-DR Grantees’ Use of Program Income
We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), oversight of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees’ use of program income. We initiated this audit in accordance with our goal of ensuring and promoting accountability and effectiveness in disaster response and recovery. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD ensured that program income generated from disaster funds…
May 17, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-0002
HUD Can Improve Oversight of Its Temporary Endorsement Policy for Loans in COVID-19 Forbearance
We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) temporary policy for endorsement of loans with COVID-19 forbearance activity because an analysis of data in HUD’s systems showed that there may have been loans that did not comply with the policy’s requirements. The policy was one aspect of HUD’s broader emergency response to COVID-19, which also included an eviction moratorium and loan forbearance for borrowers…
May 15, 2023
Report
#2023-NY-0002
The Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s Contracting Method for Program Management Services for the R3 program
We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Home Repair, Reconstruction, or Relocation (R3) program. We initiated this audit as part of our commitment to helping the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery. Our objective was to determine whether PRDOH followed applicable program requirements when spending R3 program funds.
During…
March 31, 2023
Report
#2023-AT-1002
The State of Georgia Did Not Adequately Monitor Its Harvey, Irma, and Maria Grants’ Activities and Subrecipients
We audited the State of Georgia’s monitoring of its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria (HIM) grants’ activities and subrecipients. We initiated this audit to further HUD’s strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery. HUD awarded more than $50.9 million in disaster recovery funds to the State for the natural disasters that…
March 28, 2023
Report
#2023-AT-1001
The Office of Community Planning and Development’s Use of Remote Monitoring
The Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) traditionally uses onsite monitoring to monitor its grantees. However, in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, CPD shifted to 100 percent remote monitoring. Monitoring was momentarily paused in fiscal year (FY) 2020 and was reinstituted remotely in FY 2021.
To support its remote monitoring approach, CPD launched the Grantee Document Exchange (GDX), an externally…
March 10, 2023
Report
#2021-OE-0010
CDBG-DR Program Generally Met Low- and Moderate-Income Requirements
We audited the Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) monitoring and oversight of the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. The objective of the audit was to determine whether CPD had effectively and efficiently designed its CDBG-DR program requirements and monitoring to ensure that the grantees meet statutory and other Federal low- and moderate-income (LMI) requirements. Generally,…
March 03, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-0001
HUD Did Not Sufficiently Flag Unacceptable Physical Condition Scores To Assess Its Controlling Participants
We found 13 properties with consecutive REAC scores below 60 that were missing the required flags in HUD’s Active Partners Performance System (APPS) for unacceptable physical condition. This condition occurred because HUD did not have a quality control program to ensure that the account executives manually entered the flags into APPS and there was no automated process for flagging a property once it received the second consecutive below-…
February 14, 2023
Report
#2023-KC-0002
Attestation Review of HUD's Compliance with Office of National Drug Control Policy for Fiscal Year 2022
We conducted an attestation review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s drug control accounting for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. We performed this review pursuant to section 705(d) of Public Law 105-277, which requires National Drug Control Program agencies to submit to the Director of ONDCP a detailed accounting of all funds spent by the agencies for National Drug Control Program activities during the…
January 31, 2023
Report
#2023-FO-0801
HUD’s Communication to Homeowners About COVID-19 Policies
We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to proactively communicate information related to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) to homeowners with Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages. We initiated this work based on a U.S. Government Accountability Office report that identified helping borrowers understand the protections available to them as a key challenge and prior audit…
January 30, 2023
Report
#2023-NY-0001
Audit of FHA’s Fiscal Years 2022 and 2021 Financial Statements
We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to audit the financial statements of FHA as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, and to provide reports on FHA’s 1) internal control over financial reporting; and 2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters. Our contract with CLA required that the audit be performed in accordance…
November 16, 2022
Report
#2023-FO-0003
HUD Could Improve Its Tracking and Monitoring of Continuum of Care Grantee Spending Levels
We performed a review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) monitoring and tracking of Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees that have been slow to spend their grant funds. Our objectives were to determine whether HUD was effectively tracking and monitoring CoC grant spending and to determine the impact of COVID-19 on CoC grantee spending.
HUD generally tracked and monitored its grantees; however, it did not…
October 19, 2022
Report
#2023-LA-0002
Management Challenges of Federal Agencies in Preparing for and Responding to Natural Disasters
As part of a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Disaster Assistance Working Group cross-cutting initiative, we summarized the conclusions, findings, and recommendations of 28 reports related to the Federal Government’s natural disaster preparedness and response issued by 7 Offices of Inspector General (OIGs). The seven participating OIGs included U.S. Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services…
October 18, 2022
Report
#2023-FW-1001
Fraud Risk Inventory for the Tenant- and Project-Based Rental Assistance, HOME, and Operating Fund Programs’ CARES and ARP Act Funds
In coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, we conducted an audit to identify potential fraud schemes that could affect HUD’s pandemic funds. We reviewed the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), HOME Investment Partnerships, and Public Housing…
September 29, 2022
Report
#2022-FO-0007
Community Development Block Grant CARES Act Implementation Challenges
We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act program.
Our audit objective was to determine what challenges grantees faced in using program funds for activities that prepare for, prevent, or respond to the coronavirus and its impact. We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from 1,047 program…
September 28, 2022
Report
#2022-LA-0003
The State of North Carolina Generally Had Capacity and Mostly Followed Disbursement Requirements, but Its Procurement Process Needs Improvement
We audited the State of North Carolina’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. 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 in…
September 16, 2022
Report
#2022-AT-1002
Emergency Solutions Grants CARES Act Implementation Challenges
We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (ESG-CV) program. Our audit objective was to determine what challenges ESG-CV grant recipients faced in implementing the program and using grant funds. We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from the 362 recipients of ESG-CV grants. At the time we…
August 17, 2022
Report
#2022-LA-0002