Housing Leased to Lower Income Persons: Better Federal Guidance and Management Could Improve Quality

Although the section 8 "existing housing" program managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided decent, safe, and sanitary housing to many lower income people, a large number of homes leased under the program violate federal housing quality standards. Accompanied by HUD inspectors, GAO inspected 160 section 8 units (apartments, single-family homes, and mobile homes) administered by 16 public housing agencies under the jurisdiction of 5 HUD field offices in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, and Massachusetts.