HUD Fails to Estimate Improper Payments for Eighth Year

HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its annual audit.

• For the eighth year in a row, HUD failed to estimate improper payments for its two largest rental assistance programs—Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA).
  • TBRA and PRBA together make up $50 billion, or two-thirds of HUD’s FY 2024 budget.
• The audit also noted that HUD let a key data-sharing agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system lapse in 2019, which HUD is required to use to help prevent improper payments.

In Context: HUD last met federal requirements for estimating improper payments in 2016, when it reported $1.7 billion in errors. Since then, it has spent $315 billion through these programs.