The Management Agent for Lake View Towers Apartments, Chicago, IL, Did Not Always Comply With HUD’s Section 8 HAP Program Requirements

We audited the Lake View Towers Apartments’ Section 8 housing assistance payments program based on our analysis of risk factors related to multifamily projects in Region 5’s jurisdiction and the activities included in our fiscal year 2019 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the management agent administered the project’s program in accordance with the owner’s contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its own requirements. The management agent did not always administer the project’s program in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements.  Specifically, it did not always correctly calculate and support housing assistance payments for its program households, obtain and maintain required eligibility documentation, and maintain appropriate waiting lists for the project.  As a result, HUD inappropriately paid nearly $57,000 in ineligible and more than $399,000 in unsupported housing assistance.  If the management agent does not correct its tenant certification process, HUD could overpay more than $54,000 in housing assistance over the next year.  In addition, housing assistance may have been unjustly denied or delayed for eligible applicants on the project’s waiting lists. We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Chicago Office of Multifamily Housing Programs require the project owner to (1) reimburse HUD for the ineligible housing assistance payments; (2) reimburse the appropriate household for the underpaid housing assistance; (3) support or reimburse HUD for the unsupported housing assistance payments; (4) conduct criminal record background checks; (5) update its waiting lists to include applicable notations; and (6) implement adequate policies, procedures, and controls to address the issues cited in this report.