We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of Sikich CPA LLC to audit the financial statements of FHA as of and for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, 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 Sikich required that the audit be performed in accordance with U.S.…

Beginning in 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted several audits to assess HUD’s anti-fraud efforts and to develop inventories of fraud risks for several of its programs.  Our previous work found that HUD’s fraud risk management program was in its early stages of development and we recommended that HUD perform program-specific fraud risk assessments and…

We audited New York City (NYC) Department of Social Services (DSS) with the objective of evaluating DSS’ fraud risk management practices for its Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (ESG CARES Act) funded activities and assessed the maturity of its efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud.  Fraud within activities funded by the ESG CARES Act can lead to significant financial losses…

This disaster recovery biannual report and subsequent annual reports will provide curated information regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its grantees’ use of the more than $109 billion in disaster recovery funds approved by Congress since the 2001 World Trade Center attack, as well as information on new or completed HUD OIG oversight work related to HUD’s disaster recovery program.  HUD’s…

We audited New York State’s Hurricane Sandy disaster procurement processes.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the State conducted its Hurricane Sandy-funded disaster recovery procurements using full, fair, and open competition methods.  By continuing to use a November 2012 Governor-issued temporary waiver, the State did not foster open competition and ensure that it obtained the best services at the best prices.…

We audited Flat Branch Mortgage, Inc., to evaluate its quality control (QC) program for originating and underwriting Single Family FHA-insured loans.  Our audit covered the period October 2020 through September 2022.  We selected Flat Branch for review based on its loan volume and delinquency rate and because its rate of self-reporting loans to HUD when it identified fraud, material misrepresentations, and other material…

HUD’s Office of Single Family Housing did not consistently monitor its Field Service Management (FSM) contractors’ property preservation and protection services.  Specifically, HUD provided inconsistent monitoring for 34 of the 79 statistically sampled records we reviewed, and these involved discrepancies between HUD’s assessment, the support, and the performance work statement.  HUD did not develop and apply a clear and…

This inaugural disaster recovery biannual report and subsequent reports will provide curated information regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its grantees’ use of the more than $109 billion in disaster recovery funds approved by Congress since the 2001 World Trade Center attack, as well as information on new or completed HUD OIG oversight work related to HUD’s disaster recovery program.HUD’s…

We audited the HUD Office of Housing Counseling to assess its processes for achieving its goal to advance homeownership through prepurchase and postpurchase homeownership counseling, including its use of performance metrics and the collection and use of outcome data.  We selected this review because housing counseling plays a significant role in improving housing outcomes for home buyers, homeowners, and renters.HUD’s Office of…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers billions in presidentially declared disaster recovery grants through its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program.  We audited five non-State grantees to assess whether they are on track to spend their remaining grant funds on eligible activities that benefit program participants within a reasonable amount of time.  We also wanted to…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ monitoring of civil rights compliance.  Robust monitoring for civil rights compliance is critical to HUD’s goals to support underserved communities.  Our audit objective was to assess the extent to which HUD monitored civil rights compliance in its program activities.HUD and performance-based contract…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) monitoring of grantees’ compliance with civil rights requirements. Our audit focused on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). Our audit objective was to assess the extent to which CPD monitored civil rights compliance in its program activities.CPD could…

In an effort to increase transparency and accountability in the use of Federal funding in program activities, Federal law and guidance requires the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its prime recipients to ensure that complete and accurate subaward data is posted on USASpending.gov.  We audited HUD to determine whether the prime award recipients of HUD funding met all of the Federal Funding Accountability…

We audited loanDepot.com to evaluate its quality control (QC) program for originating and underwriting Single Family Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans.  We selected loanDepot for review based on its loan volume and delinquency rate and because its rate of self-reporting loans to HUD when it identified fraud, material misrepresentations, and other material findings that it could not mitigate was below average for…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) is auditing the use of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds as non-Federal match for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA)Public Assistance Program.  Our objectives are to determine whether four CDBG-DR grantees made improper payments and whether the Office of Community Planning and…

We audited the project activity status for 12 grantees that received funds under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) National Disaster Resilience (NDR) grant to determine whether the grantees have accomplished or are on track to accomplish the goals of the activities outlined in their action plans. We found that NDR grantees should be able to accomplish their…

We performed an audit of Carrington Mortgage’s compliance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for foreclosures that started in 2022. Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as extended by the Secretary, from March 18, 2020, through July 31, 2021, there was a pause on new and ongoing foreclosures for FHA single‐family mortgages for homes that remained occupied. We selected…

We performed an audit of MidFirst’s compliance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for foreclosures that started in 2022.  Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as extended by the Secretary, from March 18, 2020, through July 31, 2021, there was a pause on new and ongoing foreclosures for FHA single‐family mortgages for homes that remained occupied. We selected MidFirst…

HUD’s Office of Housing contracts with performance-based contract administrators to administer the housing assistance payments (HAP) contract with owners.  Through RAD, HUD oversees the HAP contracts for converted properties and monitors owners for compliance with HUD’s requirements, which include maintaining (1) units in decent, safe, and sanitary condition and (2) reserve for replacement accounts to help defray the cost of…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Office of Asset Sales’ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)‐Held Vacant Loan Sales (HVLS) program. The audit objective was to assess the extent to which HUD tracks and measures its loan sales’ program success and its achievement of mission outcomes as they relate to the Affordable Housing Action Plan.  HUD did not have adequate information to measure its loan…