The HUD Inspector General Office the management procedures, practices, and controls related to the Recovery Act Management and Reporting System (RAMPS) to assess compliance with reporting requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). The audit found that HUD had taken actions to comply with the reporting requirements under the Recovery Act. However, HUD’s effort to implement procedures, practices, and controls…

We audited selected controls within the Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting system (DRGR) related to Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding because of the emergency and the transparency nature of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, respectively, and corresponding statutory timeframes. DRGR is an existing system that was modified to track close to $5.9 billion dollars of NSP funds, the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of the Inspector General reviewed HUD's Front End risk Assessment (FERA) for the Capital Fund Formula and Competitive Grant Programs funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Our objectives were to determine whether HUD’s front-end risk assessment of the programs complied with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance for…

In response to a congressional request, we audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Title II single-family lender approval process. We wanted to know whether the application process provided effective controls and procedures to ensure approval of only those lenders meeting program requirements. Our audit found that FHA needs to improve the lender approval process. The process did not have sufficient controls and procedures to ensure…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD’s oversight of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home equity conversion mortgages (HECM) program. We initiated the audit as part of the activities in our 2008 annual audit plan. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate oversight of the underwriting of HECM loans. This is the second of two audit reports…

We conducted a capacity review of the operations of the City of Brockton’s (City) grantee, Building a Better Brockton, Inc. (recipient), which has responsibility for administering the City’s NSP. Our objective was to determine whether the City and/or its recipient had the capacity to effectively and efficiently administer its NSP under the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and the American Recovery and…

We reviewed the front-end risk assessment (assessment) for the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (OHHLHC) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Recovery Act appropriated $100 million to the lead hazard control program. Our review of the assessment for OHHLHC determined that while OHHLHC generally complied with the Recovery Act, HUD’s Streamlined FERA Process and the Departmental Management Control…

We performed an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) formula-based allocations related to five programs funded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to satisfy the Recovery Act mandate that “every taxpayer dollar spent on economic recovery be subject to unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability.” We reviewed all five HUD programs with funds which were allocated based…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD’s process for reviewing and approving commercial rents for multifamily properties. Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s review and approval process for commercial rents ensured that multifamily properties received commercial rents that were comparable to market rate rents. HUD did not have a uniform process to ensure that commercial rent…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General reviewed the front-end risk assessment (assessment) for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). Our objective was to determine whether the assessment complied with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) updated guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), as well as HUD’s streamlined assessment process. Our…

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General evaluated the front-end risk assessment for the Community Development Block Grant Recovery (CDBG-R) grant. Our objective was to determine whether the assessment complied with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) updated guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), as well as HUD’s streamlined assessment process.…

We performed an audit of the City of Boston’s (City) Department of Neighborhood Development (Department). We selected the City based upon the results of our previous audit of the City’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and the significance of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds awarded. Our objective was to determine whether the City had the capacity to effectively and efficiently administer its NSP under the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General reviewed HUD's assessment of the risk for the Tax Credit Assistance Program. Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s front-end risk assessment (assessment) of the Program complied with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance for implementing the Recovery Act and applicable HUD requirements. Our review of the final assessment for the Program…