HUD needs more accurate data from public housing agencies

Public housing agencies often submit erroneous data to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on how well they provide safe and decent housing for low-income households, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office.

For the report "HUD Needs Better Information on Housing Agencies' Management Performance" (GAO-01-94), GAO interviewed officials at 41 of HUD's 43 field offices over the course of a year and found that, too often, agencies supplied-and verified-performance data that were inaccurate or incomplete.

HUD spends nearly $7 billion a year on the public housing program, which provides affordable housing to low-income households.

"Under HUD's Public Housing Assesment System (PHAS), failing to identify inaccurate housing agency data could be costly to other housing agencies because HUD plans to award performance bonuses to high-performing housing agencies-on the basis, in part, of their self-certified data-and will pay for the bonuses with funds it had set aside for other agencies," said the GAO.

The department oversees public housing agencies by annually measuring their performance through PHAS, in addition to the field offices' daily monitoring. PHAS includes factors-such as heating and air conditioning in residences and neighborhood security-that HUD deems most important in judging the quality of a housing agency's management.

High-performing housing agencies-those scoring 90 percent or greater under PHAS-may be eligible for bonus points when they apply for certain types of funding that HUD awards on a competitive basis. HUD also plans to award performance bonuses later this year for high-performing agencies, taking funds for the bonuses out of funds that would otherwise go to average or troubled agencies.

At the end of every fiscal year, housing agencies analyze their own job performance in meeting the department's criteria, report that information to HUD, and verify its accuracy. However, the GAO found that more than 40 percent of the survey's respondents reported that agencies submitted inaccurate or incomplete management data. The 41 field offices cited three major reasons for the agencies' inability to provide accurate information: failure to collect all the data HUD requires; misinterpretation of HUD requirements; and lack of expertise necessary to collect and analyze data.

HUD also relies heavily on independent audits of the housing agencies' performance data, but the department conducted reviews of these audits and reported to the GAO that some auditors failed to do the work expected of them, or were unclear about HUD's expectations.

The GAO found that more than 80 percent of the field offices surveyed believed that under PHAS, HUD did not have the resources necessary to ensure housing agencies' data are accurate.

The GAO recommended that HUD develop a cost-effective approach for the department's field offices to verify the accuracy of the housing agencies' performance data. The report also urged the department to ensure it uses adequately verified performance information when determining bonus points and awards for agencies.

Although HUD did not directly address the GAO's recommendations, it emphasized that the PHAS management operations element is not the only criterion used to evaluate agencies' performance. The department also takes into account resident satisfaction, for example.

HUD also said it plans to provide more training to its field office staff on using PHAS criteria. It will also carefully review agencies' performance data for errors.