Finding Text
Criteria or Specific Requirement: Eligibility
The PHA must do the following:
(1) As a condition of admission or continued occupancy, 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).
(2) For both family income examinations and reexaminations, obtain and document in the family file third-party verification of (1) reported family annual income; (2) the value of assets; (3) expenses related to deductions from annual income; and (4) other factors that affect the determination of adjusted income or income-based rent (24 CFR section 982.516).
(3) 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).
(4) Reexamine family income and composition at least once every 12 months and adjust the tenant rent and housing assistance payment as necessary using the documentation from third-party verification (24 CFR section 982.516).
(5) Select tenants from the HCVP waiting list (see III.N.1, “Special Tests and Provisions – Selection from the Waiting List”) (24 CFR sections 982.202 through 982.207).
Condition: The Agency did not have adequate internal controls designed to ensure HCV eligibility requirements were being met.
Questioned Costs: $120,680
Context: During the testing of the HCV tenant files for Eligibility, the following deficiencies were noted in 21 of 40 files:
-21 instances where the annual certification was not processed within regulatory period of 12 months.
-1 instance where a tenant’s income, assets, and expenses were not supported.
Cause: The Agency failed to provide adequate monitoring and oversight to ensure compliance with HUD rules and regulations, as well as their administrative policy.
Effect: The Agency is not in compliance with federal regulations regarding the recertification of household circumstances within 12 months and documentation related to tenants income, assets and expenses.
Repeat Finding: Yes, 2022-002
Recommendation: We recommend that management should implement a quality control review over a sampling of tenant files recertified each month. The purpose of the review is to determine if the tenant files were prepared in accordance with internal policies and verify the compliance deficiencies have been corrected.
Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.