Finding Text
2024-002 – ELIGIBILITY – ELIGIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS Other Matter/Significant Deficiency U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ALN #: 14.871 – Housing Choice Voucher Program CRITERIA The PHA must conduct a reexamination of family income and composition at least annually. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the PHA must obtain and document in the tenant file third-party verification of the following factors, or must document in the tenant file why third-party verification was not available: (i) Reported family annual income; (ii) The value of assets; (iii) Expenses related to deductions from annual income; and (iv) Other factors that affect the determination of adjusted income. (2 CFR 982.516 (a)) (1) As a condition of admission to or continued assistance under the program, the PHA shall require the family head, and such other family members as the PHA designates, to execute a HUD-approved release and consent form (2 CFR 982.516(g)) CONDITION As a result of our testing, we identified the following: • Six instances in which the PHA obtained sufficient verifications of income; however, the PHA calculated the annualized tenant income incorrectly or it was unclear how the PHA calculated annualized income. • Four instances of an incorrect payment standard being used. • Four instances in which HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification system was not used. • One instance of a missing release and consent form (HUD-9886) • One instance of an insufficient verification of income. CAUSE The Authority's system of obtaining and documenting third-party verifications of tenant’s income, assets, or deductions was not sufficient EFFECT The Authority did obtain proper verification and calculation of income, expenses, and deductions are used in calculating annual income, adjusted income, and thereby housing assistance payments. QUESTIONED COSTS None Noted. CONTEXT The Authority leased approximately 320 vouchers through the Housing Choice Voucher Program throughout the year. We selected a sample of 40 participant files. This was not a statistically valid sample REPEAT FINDING This finding is repeated from finding 2023-002. RECOMMENDATION We recommend policies and procedures are strengthened to ensure all proper documentation and annual recertification are maintained in all tenant files to document eligibility. AUDITEE’S RESPONSE AND PLANNED CORRECTIVE ACTION See Corrective Action Plan.