Urban Poor: Tenant Income Misreporting Deprives Other Families of HUD-Subsidized Housing.
Abstract
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides more than $13 billion in annual rent subsidies to nearly 4.6 million needy families in public and Section 8 housing. Despite these programs, at least 8 million very low/income families are without housing, live in substandard or overcrowded housing, or spend more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing. Recent studies by HUD'S Office of Inspector General have disclosed significant underreporting of household income, resulting in HUD paying excess subsidies and providing subsidized housing to families whose incomes exceed eligibility limits, thereby depriving needier families of such housing. Because of his concerns about household misreporting of income and its effects on HUD's rent subsidies, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs asked GAO to determine whether HUD had sufficient internal controls to ensure that subsidized households properly report their income. Specifically, the Subcommittee asked GAO to (1) conduct a one-time computer match of subsidized household records with federal tax records to determine the extent to which households accurately report their income and (2) determine the feasibility of HUD using federal tax data to verify household income. (KAR) p. 3
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA298957
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office