Departments are required by law to develop and maintain governance structures, controls, and processes to safeguard resources and assets. A robust fraud risk framework helps to ensure that programs fulfill their intended purpose and that funds are spent effectively. HUD relies on public housing authorities (PHAs) to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in its housing programs.  Therefore, we audited the New York City Housing Authority…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles’ management of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in its public housing units.  We selected the Authority based on our assessment of the risks of lead‐based paint in public housing agencies’ (PHA) housing developments, including the age of buildings, the number of units, household demographics, and reported cases of childhood lead poisoning.  The audit objectives…

We audited the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority’s management of its Commodore Perry Homes development.  We selected the Authority based on congressional interest.  Half of the development’s buildings were demolished more than 20 years ago, and the majority of the remaining buildings and units have been vacant for years without redevelopment activity.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority properly…

We audited the Los Angeles County Development Authority’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program due to a hotline complaint (HC-2019-4215) alleging that the Authority did not use its program funds in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority met its program goals and objectives to assist eligible families in becoming self-sufficient and…

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 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 Housing Authority of the County of San Diego’s intergovernmental agreement due to the results of our completed internal auditability survey of public housing agencies with intergovernmental agreements.  The auditability survey identified public housing authorities with intergovernmental agreements for potential external reviews due to a recent external audit the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (audit report…

We audited the Compton Housing Authority’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 emphasis on…

We audited the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles’ intergovernmental agreements due to our Public and Indian Housing Intergovernmental Agreements Auditability Survey.  The objective of that review was to identify public housing agencies with intergovernmental agreements for potential external reviews due to a previous audit (audit report 2018-LA-1008), which identified the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles as not…

We audited the Housing Authority of City of Los Angeles’ legal services due to a hotline complaint alleging that the Authority did not properly procure its legal services and alleging questionable legal expenses that violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority procured, contracted, and managed its legal services in compliance with HUD requirements…

We audited the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies that fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Buffalo, NY, field office.  The objective of our audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its operating funds in accordance with applicable HUD, Federal, and Authority requirements. We found that the Authority did not…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles’ Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher Program.  We selected the Authority because review of RAD conversions was aligned with the goals of our annual audit plan and the Authority’s conversion included previously environmentally toxic land that was recently remediated.  The objective of our review was to determine whether the…

We audited the Glen Cove Housing Authority’s administration of the disposition proceeds it received from selling properties.  We selected the Authority for review because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) New York Office of Public and Indian Housing ranked it as the third highest risk performer among 67 public housing providers in New York and because the audited financial statements and property disposition…

We audited the New Brunswick Housing Authority because it was classified as a troubled public housing agency and based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies located in the State of New Jersey.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its operating and capital funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. We found that the Authority did not…

We audited the Chukchansi Indian Housing Authority (Authority) Indian Housing Block Grant program due to a hotline complaint.  The complaint alleged that the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians (tribe) had overstated tribal enrollment numbers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), resulting in its tribally designated housing entity, the Chukchansi Indian Housing Authority, receiving more funding than it should…

We audited the Inglewood Housing Authority (Authority) based upon issues with participant eligibility identified during our previous review of the financial operations of the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program, audit report 2016-LA-1013.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority ensured that participants were eligible to receive housing assistance in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…

We completed a review of the New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority’s administration of its public housing program.  We selected the Authority based on a management request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) New York Office of Public Housing.  The Authority was designated as a troubled housing authority and had indicators of noncompliance with program requirements, such as using program funds to pay…

(REISSUED February 17, 2017) We audited the Town of Amherst’s Housing Choice Voucher program administered through a contractor, Belmont Housing Resources for Western New York, to address our audit plan priority to ensure that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) public and Indian housing programs are sufficiently administered by public housing agencies (PHA).  We selected this auditee based on a risk analysis of…

We audited the Tarrytown Municipal Housing Authority’s administration of its public housing program based on an Office of Inspector General risk assessment.  The objectives of the audit were to evaluate the Authority’s financial controls to determine whether (1) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds were used for eligible, reasonable, and supported expenses and (2) adequate financial controls were maintained to…

We audited the Inglewood Housing Authority’s financial management of its Housing Choice Voucher program due to a hotline complaint allegation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Los Angeles Office of Public Housing’s concerns about the Authority’s financial management of its program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority managed the financial operations of its program in compliance with HUD…