We audited the Niagara Falls Housing Authority’s HOPE VI grant program based on an Office of Inspector General risk analysis and the amount of funding the Authority received.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority administered its HOPE VI grant program and activities in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and HOPE VI grant program requirements. The Authority did not always…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program and found that 33 borrowers had more than 1 loan under the program.  Having multiple loans violated program requirements because HUD requires borrowers to reside in the mortgaged residence as their principal residence and borrowers may not have more than one principal residence at the same time.  We…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) methodology and monitoring regarding the Office of Public Housing’s asset management fees and central office cost centers due to our concerns over potential misspending by public housing authorities and the lack of restrictions in the use of such funds.  Our objective was to determine how HUD arrived at the asset management fee limits in its Public Housing Operating…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD), Office of Public and Indian Housing’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program regarding HUD’s implementation and monitoring.  We initiated our review because there had been no prior Office of Inspector General reviews of the HUD-VASH program.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s implementation and monitoring of the program was adequate. …

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six-month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Inventory Management System-Public and Indian Housing Information Center (IMS/PIC) inventory data related to public housing demolition and disposition projects.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether HUD adequately monitored the demolition and disposition projects to ensure the reliability of IMS/PIC inventory data and awarded appropriate Capital Fund…

Based upon a complaint, we reviewed two Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements as part of a joint assignment with our Office of Investigation and Office of Legal Counsel.  Our objective was to determine whether the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA)  when it obtained the services of two people through IPA agreements.  During the review, we identified potential…

We audited the City of Elmira, NY’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on our risk analysis and funding received by the City.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the City (1) ensured that program activities were adequately documented and administered in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, and (2) expended CDBG funds for eligible…

We completed a review of the New York City Housing Authority’s administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected the Authority based on indicators from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) monitoring reports.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority administered its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program in accordance with HUD regulations and made housing…

We completed a review of the New York City Housing Authority’s administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to ensure that its units met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) housing quality standards.  We selected the Authority based on indicators from HUD monitoring reports, such as the Authority’s overall Section 8 Management Assessment Program performance rating modified to standard for fiscal…

Federal organizations have a fundamental responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals and their personally identifiable information (PII) that is collected, used, maintained, shared, and disposed of by agency programs and information systems. The management of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs demands the availability and use of extensive amounts of financial, demographic, and personal information. HUD is…

We conducted an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2013 compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 as amended by the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA).  IPERA was enacted to eliminate and recover improper payments by requiring agencies to identify and report on programs that are susceptible to significant improper payments.  IPERA also…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of Public and Indian Housing program interfund transactions. Our objective was to determine whether HUD (1) had adequate procedures to identify, monitor, and evaluate public housing agencies (PHA) with interfunds, and (2) took appropriate actions to curtail improper practices when borrowing from restricted HUD programs was found. HUD officials adequately…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) violation report regarding the misuse of a government purchase card in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) implementing guidance and the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012.   HUD is responsible for the violation report and the conclusions expressed in the report.  Our objective was to evaluate the fairness of the…

We audited certain portions of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) multifamily housing programs as part of our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan, based on an auditability study that we conducted, which identified potentially significant risk factors in its McKinney Act bond refund program.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether HUD properly enforced requirements that regulated the application of…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) monitoring of its Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grantees’ incurred developer fees based on a prior external audit, which indicated that CPD field offices may not have provided adequate oversight of NSP grantees to ensure that for-profit developers did not incur questionable developer fees.  Our objective…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed HUD’s oversight of contracting for architectural and engineering contracts due to a referral involving a multi-State manufactured home inspection contract awarded by HUD in which the contractor received excessive payments.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD properly procured and made reasonable payments for its manufactured…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) San Francisco and Los Angeles Offices of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) monitoring of CPD-funded assets transferred by former redevelopment agencies due to concerns that CPD-funded assets may be lost during the State of California’s statewide mandated closure of redevelopment agencies.  Our objective was to determine whether the San Francisco and Los…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of Section 202 multifamily housing project refinances as part of the Inspector General’s goal of promoting fiscal responsibility and financial accountability.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate controls to ensure that Section 202 refinancing was conducted in an effective and efficient manner. HUD did not have adequate controls to…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.