Finding 1224101 (2025-003)

Program: COVID-19 Housing Voucher Center Cluster Federal Financial Assistance Listing Number: 14.871, 14.879 Federal Grantor: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Award No. and Year: KS004VO0127 and 2025, EHV KS004 and 2025, KS004DV0001 and 2025 Compliance Requirements: Special Tests and Provisions – Housing Quality Standards Enforcement Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria: Under the Housing Voucher Center Cluster (HVC) program, public housing authorities are required to enforce Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and take timely action to ensure identified deficiencies are corrected. Pursuant to 24 CFR 982.404 and 982.405, PHAs must inspect units, notify owners of deficiencies, ensure repairs are completed within required timeframes, and take appropriate enforcement actions when deficiencies are not remedied. Pursuant to 24 CFR 982.404(d)(2), when a non-life-threatening HQS deficiency is identified, the PHA must abate the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), including amounts that have been withheld, if the owner fails to make the repairs within the applicable cure period (within 24 hours of notification for life-threatening deficiencies and within 30 days of notification (or other reasonable period established by the PHA) for non-life-threatening deficiencies). Condition: For one (1) unit that failed an HQS inspection due to non-life-threatening deficiencies, the City did not verify that the deficiencies were corrected within the required 30-day cure period. In addition, the City did not initiate abatement of Housing Assistance Payments after the unit remained noncompliant beyond the required timeframe. Effect: Failure to timely abate Housing Assistance Payments for units that remain noncompliant with HQS increases the risk that federal funds are disbursed for units that do not meet minimum housing quality standards. This condition indicates noncompliance with program requirements and reduces the effectiveness of the City’s enforcement of HQS standards.Questioned Costs: No questioned costs were identified as a result of our procedures. Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sampling of forty (40) failed inspections were selected for testing. The condition above was identified during our procedures related to special tests and provisions. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend the City strengthen oversight over HQS inspections performed by its third-party contractor by implementing procedures to track and enforce required correction timeframes, including timely follow-up, documentation of inspection results, and prompt initiation of HAP abatement when deficiencies are not corrected within the required cure period. View of Responsible Officials: See separately issued Corrective Action Plan.