Finding 34098 (2022-004)

-
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2022
Accepted
2022-11-30

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: A non-eligible tenant received a $480 dependent allowance due to incorrect procedures.
  • Impacted Requirements: This violates guidelines in the Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook regarding eligibility for dependent allowances.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Strengthen procedures for calculating tenant rent to prevent similar errors in the future.

Finding Text

Statement of Condition ? For the Low Rent Public Housing, we reviewed 40 tenant files (recertification files and new tenant files) for fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. We reviewed 5 files for tenants who moved out during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. The selected files represented a sample of all files in the three AMPS. We noted 1 instance in which the dependent allowance ($480 deduction) was granted to a non-eligible tenant. Criteria ? Per the Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook (Income Determination - Section 6.1), ?The family receives an allowance of $480 for each family member who is 1) under 18 years of age, 2) a person with disabilities, or 3) a full-time student. Effect ? In the instance noted above, a $480 allowance was calculated for a household member that did not meet any of the criteria stated above. The net effect of this error was $0, as the family was paying flat rent. Cause ? Incorrect procedures were followed in regards to calculating total tenant income. Recommendation ? Procedures surrounding tenant rent calculation processes should be strengthened.

Corrective Action Plan

2022-004: The Authority continues to strengthen its procedures surrounding tenant rent calculations at initial and recertification reviews in the Low Income Housing Program. A second review, conducted by a Public Housing Manager, will be required for all such calculations. For the file in question, a correction was made with a retroactive effective date of May 1, 2022.

Categories

Questioned Costs HUD Housing Programs

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
14.872 Public Housing Capital Fund $3.11M
14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers $2.38M
14.269 Hurricane Sandy Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grants (cdbg-Dr) $871,603
14.850 Public and Indian Housing $361,713
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $127,929
14.870 Resident Opportunity and Supportive Services - Service Coordinators $46,477