Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Federal Program Name: Housing Voucher Cluster
Assistance Listing Number: 14.871/14.879
Federal Award Identification Number and Year: MO002VO - 2023
Award Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Housing Quality Standards (HQS) Enforcement
Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance
Type of Finding: Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: For units under HAP contract that fail to meet HQS, the Authority must require the owner to correct any life threatening HQS deficiencies within 24 hours after the inspections and all other HQS deficiencies within 30 calendar days or within a specified Authority-approved extension. If the owner does not correct the cited HQS deficiencies within the specified correction period, the Authority must stop (abate) HAPs beginning no later than the first of the month following the specified correction period or must terminate the HAP contract. The owner is not responsible for a breach of HQS as a result of the family’s failure to pay for utilities for which the family is responsible under the lease or for tenant damage. For family-caused defects, if the family does not correct the cited HQS deficiencies within the specified correction period, the Authority must take prompt and vigorous action to enforce the family obligations (24 CFR sections 982.158(d) and 982.404).
Condition: The Authority did not require HQS deficiencies to be corrected within the required timeframe. The Authority did not abate units that failed to correct HQS deficiencies within the required timeframe. Questioned costs: Known questioned costs of $3,500 were calculated based on the HAP payment for the units that should have been abated, multiplied by the number of months where HAP was incorrectly paid. Unable to determine likely questioned costs.
Context: Exceptions were noted in 1 out of 60 failed inspections. The Authority did not properly abate HAP for 1 out of 60 failed inspections.
Cause: The Authority did not reinspect or abate units timely.
Effect: The Authority is not in compliance with HQS enforcement requirements.
Repeat Finding: Yes, finding 2022-005.
Recommendation: We recommend the Authority implements controls to ensure abatement is timely for units that do not correct the cited HQS deficiencies within the required timeframe.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.