Finding Text
Federal Program U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development AL #14.871 Grant Award No. ND044-Housing Choice Vouchers Grant Award Year 2024 Questioned Costs None. Criteria Determine income eligibility and calculate the tenant’s rent payment using the documentation from third-party verification in accordance with 24 CFR part 5 Subpart F (24 CFR section 5.601 et seq.) (24 CFR sections 982.201, 982.515, and 982.516). Additionally, as a condition of admission or continued occupancy, the Authority must require the tenant and other family members to provide necessary information, documentation, and releases for the PHA to verify income eligibility (24 CFR sections 5.230, 5.609, and 982.516). Per the Authority’s policy, all tenant files are required to have a quality control worksheet included, which functions as the Authority’s primary internal review process to ensure an annual certification, at minimum, was performed and appropriate tenant information is documented. Condition We tested compliance with the Authority’s eligibility in 33 tenant files and found eleven files where supporting documentation for annual income or expense was missing, six files where a quality control worksheet was missing, and one file where proof of citizenship documentation was missing. Context We reviewed 33 tenant files out of a total of 162 unique participants for 2024. Effect Authority may be providing assistance to tenants that no longer qualify or may be charging incorrect rental rate per approved policies. Cause Proper eligibility documentation is not being prepared and maintained in all tenant files. Repeat Finding 2023-002. Recommendation We recommend tenant files should be maintained in an orderly fashion and all required documentation should be kept in the appropriate file. Each file should also contain a checklist that contains separate line items for each compliance requirement. Views of Responsible Officials Management will continue to emphasize to staff that applicable regulations and policies be followed to ensure compliance. All files will include a checklist for required documentation and be reviewed by a supervisor.