Finding Text
Finding 2022-001 ? Housing Choice Voucher Program Tenant Files ? Eligibility ? Internal Control over Tenant Files ? Noncompliance and Significant Deficiency ? Housing Choice Voucher Program ? Subsidy CFDA #14.871 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. Condition & Cause: Our review of one hundred and twenty (120) Housing Choice Voucher tenant files revealed that there was a total of twenty-seven (27) annual recertifications completed past due, which represent 22.5% of the total files examined. Per 24 CFR 982.516(a)(1), ?the PHA must conduct a reexamination of family income and composition at least annually.? Per PIH Notice 2021-14, ?All annual reexaminations due in CY 2021 must be completed by December 31, 2021. All annual reexaminations that were due in Calendar Year 2020 (CY20) must have been completed by December 31, 2020.? There has been significant employee turnover and delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Housing Authority experienced extreme difficulty in obtaining all the information necessary for the annual recertification. Also, the remedy for failure to obtain all the information is to begin the eviction procedures of the residence. This was not practically possible due to the pandemic. 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.