We conducted this engagement in coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to gain an understanding of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fraud risk management practices and develop an inventory of fraud risks that HUD had not already identified for the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and…

We audited lender reporting of COVID-19 forbearances for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in the Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS).  We compared default reporting data from SFDMS to loan data provided by five sampled servicing lenders that serviced a third of the FHA single-family portfolio.  Our audit objective was to determine whether COVID-19 forbearance data available in SFDMS were consistent with…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ health and safety complaint process.  We conducted this audit due to a July 2019 explosion that occurred at the Calloway Cove Apartments, a Multifamily housing property in Jacksonville, FL, which resulted in a fire that injured several people.  HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center had identified…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, has completed its audit of the HUD’s disaster preparedness from 2005 to 2018.  We performed this audit due to an agreement with six other Inspectors General as part of a Disaster Assistance Working Group-Cross Cutting Functional Effort by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to determine to what extent the Federal…

We audited the City of Houston’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) 2015 program.  Under this program, the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2016 and 2017 made funds available for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization.  We audited this program based upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) information regarding the opportunity to promote a homeless waitlist preference at Multifamily Housing rental assistance properties.  HUD has an opportunity to revisit the promotion and marketing of its homeless waitlist preference and the importance of partnering with a homeless service provider.  Additionally,…

We audited the Harris County Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. We initiated this audit as part of our commitment to helping the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) address its top management challenges and to support HUD’s strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery. Further, Congress has expressed strong interest in HUD’s…

In June 2020, we received letters from members of Congress, including the chairpersons of the House Committee on Financial Services and Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, expressing concern that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) imposed a new, nonpublic, and legally erroneous policy that prohibited issuing Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), has completed a survey of the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees.  Our objective was to determine the challenges that HUD and its CDBG-DR grantees are experiencing related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help inform the Office of Community…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with key considerations from prior audits of the HUD Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS) and the partial claim loss mitigation option.  These audits identified HUD’s lack of effective controls to ensure that lenders reported default information accurately and in a timely manner, lenders promptly filed and…

We audited selected general and application controls over the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Home Equity Reverse Mortgage Information Technology (HERMIT) system as part of the internal control assessments required for the fiscal year 2019 financial statement audit under the Chief Financial Officer’s Act of 1990.  Our objective was to review the selected controls over HERMIT for compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

The West Calumet Housing Complex (WCHC), located in East Chicago, IN, was a public housing development that opened in 1972 on top of a former lead smelting plant.  HUD and other agencies missed multiple opportunities to identify site contamination at WCHC.  As a result, WCHC residents continued living in unsafe conditions for decades, and inadequate oversight led to the lead poisoning of children in WCHC.  Between 2005 and 2015,…

We audited Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County’s (NHSLA) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2).  The audit was based on a complaint alleging questionable NSP2 financial activity, double payments to contractors, and payments to contractors for incomplete work.  Our Office of Audit received the referred complaint in late 2018.  However, because the complaint included concerns regarding activities and auditee…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, has completed its audit of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans originated in calendar year 2019.  Our audit objective was to determine whether FHA insured loans that were not eligible for insurance because they did not have the required flood insurance coverage. We found FHA insured at least 3,870 loans that closed in 2019, totaling $940…

We initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refunds to determine whether HUD appropriately, effectively, and efficiently tracked, monitored, and issued FHA refunds owed to homeowners with terminated loans. During the audit field work, the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began and as a result, we developed a second, more urgent audit objective to…

We conducted this limited review to identify the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) drawdown levels for the initial round of Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) funding.  In addition, we researched information published by grantees on how they have used and will use their funds.  Our objective was to highlight the grantees’ (1) drawdown levels for…

We audited the City of Compton’s Neighborhood Stabilization Programs (NSP) 1 and 3 due to a referral made by our Office of Investigation because of concerns related to ongoing issues at the City and complaints received about the City’s administration of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds. In addition, HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development rated the City as high risk for administering program funds in…

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s effort to provide oversight of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) relief efforts provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), we reviewed HUD’s communication to renters regarding the eviction moratorium found in Section 4024.  The objective of our review was to highlight the progress HUD has made and identify areas for improvement.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs upon receiving a hotline complaint.  The hotline complaint contained allegations that (1) HUD routinely fails to perform Endangered Species Act analysis or consultations; (2) there are many projects that have deficiencies in noise analysis and environmental assessment site factors; (3) the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this study to follow up on information we shared previously regarding what information servicers of mortgage loans insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are providing to borrowers regarding forbearance options available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). We reported on April 27, 2020, that our…