Finding Text
Finding 2023-001 – Housing Choice Voucher Program– Subsidy ALN 14.871 – Tenant Files – Eligibility – Internal Control over Tenant Files – Noncompliance and Material Weakness
Condition & Cause: Our review of one hundred (100) Housing Choice Voucher tenant files revealed the following discrepancies:
• Twenty-seven (27) annual reexaminations completed more than three months past due;
• Eleven (11) instances of noncompliance in the verification and calculation of adjusted annual income; and
• One (1) resident for whom the PHA continued to pay HAP after giving up assistance.
We noted that the percentage of late reexaminations compared to the prior year audit increased from 22.5% to 27%. The income errors consist mainly of failure to gather third-party verification of wages or deductions, income miscalculations, and missing zero-income affidavits. We did not find the impact of the income errors to be pervasive to the financial statements. The continuation of HAP after the participant gave up assistance occurred because the PHA did not complete an End of Participation 50058. We noted that the Authority has experienced difficulty in hiring, training, and retaining quality staff. This is the cause for each of the instances of noncompliance referenced.
Criteria: The Code of Federal Regulations, the Housing Authority’s Admin Plan, and specific HUD guidelines in documenting and maintaining the Housing Choice Voucher tenant files.
Effect: Failure to maintain compliance can result in loss of funding for grants and other programs which require operations to have no audit findings and noncompliance. Noncompliance can also lead to a misstatement of HAP expense, HAP equity, and the corresponding appropriation needs of the Agency.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Agency determine which vouchers are not in compliance and begin enforcing both the Administrative Plan and the Code of Federal Regulations on a consistent basis.
Questioned Costs: None
Repeat Finding: Yes
Was sampling statistically valid? Yes
Views of responsible officials: The PHA agrees with the results of the audit and recommendations.