Finding Text
Finding 2024-002 – Low Income Public Housing Tenant Files – Eligibility – Noncompliance & Material Weakness – Public and Indian Housing – ALN #14.850
Condition & Cause:
We reviewed ten (10) tenant files from the Public Housing program and found that five (5) files, or 50% of our sample, were noncompliant. Specifically, all five (5) files were missing the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) report that should have been pulled during reexamination. Additionally, three (3) of these files were missing proper verification of either annual income or deductions from annual income.
We believe these instances of noncompliance may be linked to the ongoing staff turnover in recent years. During the audit period, the Agency had three different Executive Directors and three different Public Housing Specialists.
Criteria:
The Code of Federal regulations, the Housing Authority Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy and specific HUD guidelines in documenting and maintaining Low Income Public Housing tenant files.
Effect:
Failure to properly verify adjusted annual income can lead to inaccurate subsidy calculations and misstatements of the Authority’s financial statements. Furthermore, the program could be at risk for noncompliance with regulatory requirements.
Recommendation:
We recommend that the Agency conduct a thorough tenant file audit of existing tenants to determine whether there are any additional misstatements. The Agency should determine the best way to monitor compliance with local and federal regulations as it pertains to tenant verification and adjust internal procedures immediately.
Questioned Costs: None
Repeat Finding: Yes
Was sampling statistically valid? Yes