In February 2021, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) identified funding risks with the development contract under which HUD contracted for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Catalyst’s development.  In response, HUD officials took steps to slow FHA Catalyst spending on the contract while awaiting approval for additional contract funds.  Despite efforts to slow project spending, it was not enough to prevent funding…

In accordance with the statutory requirements of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) and standards established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, we audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s (OCFO) compliance with the DATA Act for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020.  The audit was statutorily…

We conducted this engagement in coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to gain an understanding of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fraud risk management practices and develop an inventory of fraud risks that HUD had not already identified for the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and…

We audited lender reporting of COVID-19 forbearances for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in the Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS).  We compared default reporting data from SFDMS to loan data provided by five sampled servicing lenders that serviced a third of the FHA single-family portfolio.  Our audit objective was to determine whether COVID-19 forbearance data available in SFDMS were consistent with…

The brief provides an update to the original 2018 topic brief, and highlights key challenges faced by HUD in managing and improving its IT program.  The brief is not based on new work, but is a summary of 83 reports and 788 recommendations from past HUD OIG and GAO reports. It discusses the present IT environment at HUD, previously identified and new IT-related challenges, and HUD’s efforts and progress in addressing these challenges.…

While some of HUD’s efforts to improve its hiring and human capital functions and reduce its average time-to-hire have been successful, HUD’s hiring process overall was not efficient.  HUD’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), which is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures associated with human capital management, set a goal to reduce the average time-to-hire but did not meet this goal. …

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s (OCPO) administration of five procurement activities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  The CARES Act and related Office of Management and Budget memorandums gave HUD flexibility in modifying existing contracts and required rapid delivery of CARES Act funds.  Our…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) information technology (IT) modernization roadmap.  A significant number of HUD’s mission-essential applications have not been modernized, which presents multiple sources of risk.  These applications are hosted on legacy information systems and mainframe platforms, which are operationally inefficient, increasingly difficult to secure, and costly to maintain.…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2020 compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) and other Office of Management and Budget guidance.  PIIA was enacted to prevent and reduce improper payments and requires each agency’s inspector general to perform an annual review of the agency’s compliance with PIIA.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD complied…

As of March 31, 2021, HUD had disbursed $3.4 billion and obligated $7.4 billion of its $12.4 billion in CARES Act funds.  Meanwhile, HUD has more than $1.6 billion in CARES Act funds unobligated.  These funds have various expiration dates.  For example, HUD has until September 30, 2021, to obligate $28 million of the remaining management and administration CARES Act funds and until September 30, 2022, to obligate more than $1.3…

In June 2020, we received letters from members of Congress, including the chairpersons of the House Committee on Financial Services and Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, expressing concern that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) imposed a new, nonpublic, and legally erroneous policy that prohibited issuing Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)…

We audited rent credits that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) during fiscal years 2015 through 2018 in exchange for financial contributions for building improvements.  We initiated this audit due to concerns we identified while completing a review of HUD’s use of funds approved by Congress for building improvements.[1]  Our objective was to determine…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with key considerations from prior audits of the HUD Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS) and the partial claim loss mitigation option.  These audits identified HUD’s lack of effective controls to ensure that lenders reported default information accurately and in a timely manner, lenders promptly filed and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, has completed its audit of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans originated in calendar year 2019.  Our audit objective was to determine whether FHA insured loans that were not eligible for insurance because they did not have the required flood insurance coverage. We found FHA insured at least 3,870 loans that closed in 2019, totaling $940…

In accordance with the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, as amended, we are required to annually audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our objective was to express an opinion on the fair presentation of HUD’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles applicable to the Federal Government. This report presents our…

We initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refunds to determine whether HUD appropriately, effectively, and efficiently tracked, monitored, and issued FHA refunds owed to homeowners with terminated loans. During the audit field work, the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began and as a result, we developed a second, more urgent audit objective to…

This report presents the results of our audit of Ginnie Mae’s fiscal year 2020 financial statements, including our report on Ginnie Mae’s internal control and test of compliance with selected provisions of laws, regulations, and contracts applicable to Ginnie Mae. In fiscal year 2020, we were able to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to express an unmodified opinion on the fairness of Ginnie Mae’s financial statements. We also…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this study to follow up on information we shared previously regarding what information servicers of mortgage loans insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are providing to borrowers regarding forbearance options available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). We reported on April 27, 2020, that our…

We audited selected controls of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Core Interface Solution application as part of the internal control assessments for the fiscal year 2019 financial statement audit.  Our objective was to review the controls for compliance with Federal information system security and financial management requirements. The OIG has determined that the contents of this audit report would not be appropriate…

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) effort to provide oversight of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) relief efforts provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), we reviewed HUD’s responses to inquiries regarding forbearance and foreclosure relief.  The objective of our review was to evaluate the accuracy of HUD’s responses to inquiries from borrowers, industry…