The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General assessed what information servicers of mortgage loans that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures were providing on their public facing websites to borrowers regarding forbearance.  On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide economic relief to individuals and…

We audited the Philadelphia, PA, Housing Authority’s use of public housing program operating funds because we received a complaint alleging that the Authority misused U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds.  Our objective was to determine whether allegations from the complaint had merit.  We focused the audit on whether the Authority properly procured (1) relocation services, (2) job training services, (3) a…

We audited the Springfield Housing Authority’s Public Housing Operating Fund and Capital Fund programs because the Authority ranked fifth highest on our risk assessment of Massachusetts public housing agencies and is the third largest in the State. In addition, we had not audited the Authority in more than 10 years. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority complied with procurement and contract administration…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of public housing agencies’ compliance with the Lead Safe Housing Rule.  The audit is part of the activities in our fiscal year 2019 audit plan.  The audit objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate oversight of public housing agencies’ compliance with the Lead Safe Housing Rule.HUD did not have adequate oversight of public housing agencies’…

The Office of Inspector General is initiating an evaluation of the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and the Office of Multifamily Housing Program (Multifamily)’s policies for radon. We will determine the extent to which PIH and Multifamily’s radon policies protect residents from the hazardous health effects of exposure to indoor radon. I have included our evaluation design, which gives more information about our planned work.

We audited the Housing Authority of the City Long Beach’s Housing Choice Voucher Program based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Los Angeles Office of Public Housing due to concerns regarding its financial activity control weaknesses.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Housing Choice Voucher Program in accordance with Program requirements, with an…

We audited the Housing Choice Voucher Program at the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority because it was rated high risk on our risk assessment and due to the size of the Authority’s program.  It averaged 3,508 vouchers and more than $2.4 million in housing assistance payments monthly.  In addition, we had not audited the Authority’s program in the last 10 years.  The audit objective was to determine whether the Authority…

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…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration, Home Affordable Modification Program’s (FHA-HAMP) policies for reporting nonincentivized loan modifications and filing partial claims.  The audit was a result of a prior Office of Inspector General (OIG) external review in which we identified delays in reporting FHA-HAMP nonincentivized loan modifications and filing partial claims.…

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 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…

This report presents the results of our audit of FHA’s principal financial statements and notes for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2019 and 2018, including our report on FHA’s internal control and test of compliance with selected provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. In our opinion, FHA’s fiscal years 2019 and 2018 financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with the U.S…

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 audited the Palm Beach County Housing Authority in West Palm Beach, FL, based on concerns raised by news articles stating that the Authority dismissed its former executive director because of financial misconduct and ethical violations.  The concerns included bonuses paid and payments for contracted services.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority spent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans from fiscal year 2018.  Our audit objective was to determine whether FHA provided insurance on loans that were made to ineligible, delinquent Federal tax debtors. We found that FHA insured at least 56,376 loans worth $13 billion, which were not eligible for insurance because they were made to…

We audited the Taylor Housing Commission’s Housing Choice Voucher Program based on our analysis of risk factors relating to public housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction (States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). Our audit objective was to determine whether the Commission complied with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements regarding the administration of its…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Kansas and the Northern District of Texas in the civil investigation of PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital company.  The investigation was of PrimeLending’s origination, underwriting, and quality control of Federal Housing Administration (…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement in a civil investigation of Pacific Horizon Bancorp, Inc., and two former loan officers at Pacific Horizon.  Pacific Horizon has its principal place of business in La Crescenta, CA. Based on OIG’s civil investigation, on April 2, 2019, HUD notified Pacific Horizon and the two loan officers that it…