Our office is currently conducting three audits of crime prevention and eligibility determinations at Public Housing Authorities (PHA) in Washington, DC; Chicago; and Los Angeles. The objective of our audits is to (1) determine whether the Authority complied with HUD’s and its own requirements for verifying eligibility of individuals for HUD-assisted housing based on criminal activity, citizenship, and immigration status, and (2) evaluate the Authority’s practices for preventing and addressing criminal activity.
While the audits remain ongoing, this memorandum provides some of the initial results we believe could result in ineligible tenants participating in HUD’s public housing and voucher programs. We have also made some recommendations for HUD to implement regulatory and procedural changes to improve the program effectiveness in ensuring safe communities and assistance provided to only eligible participants.
