Finding Text
Finding 2022-001 ? Eligibility Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program Title: Housing Choice Voucher Program Assistance Listing Number: 14.871 Award Period: 7/1/21-6/30/22 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control Over Compliance Criteria: 24 CFR section 982.516, 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 other income-based rent. 24 CFR section 982.516 states that the PHA must 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 sections 5.212 and 5.230 states that the head of household must sign one or more release forms allowing the Authority to obtain information from third parties, as well as a federally prescribed general release form for employment information. Context: During our testing of 60 files for eligibility requirements, we noted the following: - 1 files did not have a signed Declaration 214 form for all members of the household - 4 files did not have proper support for income - 2 files did not have proper support for assets - 2 files did not have proper support for expenses - In total, 6 files did not have properly calculated HAP/TAP due to incorrect income, asset and/or expense support - 1 file did not have a signed HUD-9886 form in the file - 3 files did not have a signed general release form in the file - 1 file did not have a signed HAP contract in the file Questioned Costs: Unable to determine. Cause: The Authority?s current staff attempted to correct prior documentation errors during the period, but were not able in all cases, to obtain some missing information. In addition, in a few cases, the Authority experienced difficulty in obtaining some information during the period which occurred during COVID. Effect: The Authority is not in compliance with HUD regulations. Repeat Finding: Yes Recommendation: The Authority should review their processes for eligibility determination and documentation to ensure all information is properly documented and maintained in the files. View of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with this audit finding.