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GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed. GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention. We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues. Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

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As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.

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Subject Term: "Housing assistance"

7 publications with a total of 49 open recommendations including 3 priority recommendations

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Disaster Assistance: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen FEMA's Individuals and Households Program
GAO-20-503, Sep 30, 2020

Director: Chris Currie
Phone: (404) 679-1875

14 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should improve the completeness and consistency of its communication of the requirement to apply for an SBA disaster loan prior to being considered for SBA-dependent other needs assistance. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should assess the extent to which its process for determining an applicant's eligibility for SBA-dependent other needs assistance limits or prevents survivors' access to IHP assistance, and work with SBA to identify options to simplify and streamline the disaster assistance application process for survivors. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should improve the IHP award determination letters by using federal guidance and best practices for communicating with the public to ensure that applicants understand that an "ineligible" determination does not mean they cannot continue to pursue assistance. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should identify and implement strategies to provide additional information to applicants about how FEMA determined their eligibility for assistance and the amount of assistance to award. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should evaluate the method for communicating changes in IHP standard operating procedures (SOP) to identify ways to improve their accessibility and usability by National Processing Service Center (NPSC) staff. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should use desirable characteristics of employee engagement—including performance feedback, career development, communication, and attention to work-life balance—while completing planned activities for improving morale among call center staff. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should use desirable characteristics of employee engagement—including performance feedback, career development, communication, and attention to work-life balance—when assessing NPSC staff satisfaction scores and identifying additional steps to strengthen employee morale. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should assess the effectiveness of the IHP training and support for NPSC staff during surge events and implement any necessary changes. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should identify and implement strategies to help ensure staff deployed to Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) have the needed skills and capabilities to provide support and consistent service to survivors. (Recommendation 9)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should identify and implement strategies to provide readily accessible information and resources, such as guidance and training, about the Individuals and Households Program to state, local, tribal, and territorial officials. (Recommendation 10)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should identify and implement best practices for information sharing and coordinating with local officials, and other recovery partners, on the delivery of Transportable Temporary Housing Units in the interim while FEMA completes system improvements. (Recommendation 11)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should correct and refine the methodology used to survey survivor experiences with the IHP by (1) weighting the survey data to reflect the stratification of its survey design, (2) adjusting the base sampling weights for survey nonresponse within each stratum, and (3) calculating the sampling error for the survey data after adjusting the base sampling weights for nonresponse. (Recommendation 12)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should complete the following key process improvement activities as part of its effort to redesign the Individual Assistance Program: (1) engage with additional program customers and stakeholders to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their needs; (2) assess performance gaps between current processes and customer and stakeholder needs, and develop measurable and achievable improvement goals to address any identified performance gaps; and (3) prioritize the processes that need improvement based on documented selection criteria. (Recommendation 13)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The FEMA Administrator should establish time frames for finalizing the Individual Assistance Division's draft strategic plan and developing implementation plans that integrate its IHP improvement efforts. (Recommendation 14)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Better Guidance and Performance Measures Would Help Strengthen Enforcement Efforts
GAO-19-38, Oct 30, 2018

Director: Daniel Garcia-Diaz
Phone: (202) 512-8678

8 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center and the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development should develop written guidance for CPD's field offices to use when determining whether to make a referral to the Departmental Enforcement Center. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center and the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing should develop written guidance for PIH's field offices to use when determining whether to make a referral to the Departmental Enforcement Center. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center and the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development should develop targets for the number of referrals that CPD should make to DEC that are based on program risk. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center and the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing should develop targets for the number of referrals that PIH should make to DEC that are based on program risk. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center should develop and implement performance measures that assess the outcomes, or desired results, of its enforcement activities. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center should develop and implement performance measures of its timeliness in completing oversight reviews. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center should track the implementation of the recommendations that it makes to program offices as a result of its oversight reviews. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of the Departmental Enforcement Center should develop controls to ensure that analysts consistently and reliably record dates related to referral activity, corrective action taken, and other key information used to determine DEC's impact. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Rental Housing Assistance: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Criminal History Policies and Implementation of the Fugitive Felon Initiative
GAO-18-429, Aug 9, 2018

Director: Daniel Garcia-Diaz
Phone: (202) 512-8678

7 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The HUD Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing should complete its updates of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program Guidebook and Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook to reflect current guidance on criminal history policies for its public housing and HCV programs. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of Public and Indian Housing
Status: Open

Comments: HUD is in the process of revising both guidebooks. HUD officials stated that the updated guidebooks will include revisions to reflect HUD's current criminal history policies. The revised guidebooks are expected to be completed no later than December 2019.

Recommendation: The HUD Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing should review HUD's Compliance Monitoring Checklist to determine if questions should be added to address additional federal criminal history requirements and revise checklist instructions to direct HUD staff to obtain information on PHAs' implementation of these requirements during compliance reviews. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of Public and Indian Housing
Status: Open

Comments: HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing staff, including Regional Directors, reviewed the checklist and determined that no additional questions should be added as they believe the checklist currently addresses federal criminal history requirements. Therefore, they also maintain that the related checklist instructions also do no require revision.

Recommendation: The HUD Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Investigation should collect and assess more comprehensive information on regional efforts to implement the activities listed in the 2018 Standard Operating Procedure. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of the Inspector General: Office of Investigation
Status: Open

Comments: HUD OIG did not agree with this recommendation, stating that it was a management function not required in statute or regulation and would be unduly burdensome. We maintain the recommendation is valid. According to HUD OIG's standard operating procedures, they will be responsible for collecting and reporting statistics for some regional office activities. As discussed in this report, we believe the HUD OIG could obtain more comprehensive information on additional required regional activities using existing resources.

Recommendation: The HUD Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Investigation should, in collaboration with the FBI, determine what information on fugitive apprehensions and any estimated program savings that occur as the result of the Fugitive Felon Initiative would be most useful and consistently share such information with the FBI. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of the Inspector General: Office of Investigation
Status: Open

Comments: HUD OIG did not agree with this recommendation, stating that its ability to determine apprehensions and program savings is limited. However, the MOU between the HUD OIG and the FBI (as of the issuance of the report) states that the HUD OIG is to share this information with the FBI. We believe our recommendation provides sufficient flexibility for the HUD OIG and the FBI to determine what information on results would be feasible to collect, and maintain that such collaboration could better position the HUD OIG and the FBI to enhance their ability to identify any areas for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative.

Recommendation: The HUD Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Investigation should, in collaboration with the FBI, update the Fugitive Felon Initiative memorandum of understanding (MOU) to reflect the agencies' current activities and responsibilities. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of the Inspector General: Office of Investigation
Status: Open

Comments: HUD OIG agreed with this recommendation and would be taking steps to address it.

Recommendation: The Director of the FBI should, in collaboration with the HUD OIG, determine what information on fugitive apprehensions that occur as the result of the Fugitive Felon Initiative would be most useful and consistently share such information with the HUD OIG. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Justice: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Justice agreed with this recommendation and stated that it will continually provide apprehension statistics on a fiscal year basis. The department will also collaborate with the HUD OIG to provide any additional assistance necessary for quality information sharing.

Recommendation: The Director of the FBI should, in collaboration with the HUD OIG, update the Fugitive Felon Initiative MOU to reflect the agencies' current activities and responsibilities. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Justice: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Justice agreed with this recommendation and will take action to update the MOU, in collaboration with the HUD OIG.

Lead Paint in Housing: HUD Should Strengthen Grant Processes, Compliance Monitoring, and Performance Assessment
GAO-18-394, Jun 19, 2018

Director: Garcia-diaz, Daniel
Phone: (202) 512-8678

8 open recommendations
including 3 priority recommendations

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Recommendation: The Director of HUD's Lead Office should ensure that the office more fully documents its processes for scoring and awarding lead grants and its rationale for award decisions. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: As of November 2019, HUD's Lead Office had taken steps to implement this recommendation. For example, they updated the 2018 Application Review Guide with some criteria that could be used to score grant applications. However, the 2019 Application Review Guide did not contain similar criteria. To fully implement this recommendation, the agency will need to follow through and adopt criteria to score grant applications on a consistent basis.

Recommendation: The Director of HUD's Lead Office should ensure that the office periodically evaluates its processes for scoring and awarding lead grants. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: As of November 2019, HUD's Lead Office began to take steps to implement this recommendation. For example, in the upcoming weeks and months, the Lead Office staff plan to meet to review the most recent round of grant applications and determine whether any changes need to be made to the scoring criteria for future years. To fully implement this recommendation, HUD's Lead Office staff will need to provide evidence the office is periodically evaluating and changing processes to score and award grants, as appropriate.

Recommendation: The Director of HUD's Lead Office and the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) should collaborate to establish a plan to mitigate and address risks within HUD's lead paint compliance monitoring processes. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: As of November 2019, HUD officials told us the agency had taken steps to implement the recommendation, including requiring PHAs to submit appropriate documentation regarding public housing units' compliance with lead paint regulations and updating an internal checklist for on-site compliance reviews that HUD staff conduct. We will continue to monitor HUD's progress in response to our recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of HUD's Lead Office and the Assistant Secretary for PIH should collaborate to develop and document procedures to ensure that HUD staff take consistent and timely steps to address issues of public housing agency noncompliance with lead paint regulations. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: As of November 2019, HUD officials told us procedures were in draft form and under internal review and were not expected to be finalized until spring 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of HUD should request authority from Congress to amend the inspection standard to identify lead paint hazards in the Housing Choice Voucher program as indicated by analysis of health effects for children, the impact on landlord participation in the program, and other relevant factors. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: In response to this recommendation, HUD's fiscal year 2021 budget justification requested funds to test an alternative lead paint testing method in HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program. To fully implement our recommendation, HUD needs to continue to take steps to analyze potential effects of alternative lead paint testing methods, and use the results to inform its decisions about requesting new authority from Congress.

Recommendation: The Director of the Lead Office should develop performance goals and measures to cover the full range of HUD's lead efforts, including its efforts to ensure that housing units in its rental assistance programs are lead-safe. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: As of November 2019, HUD officials told us they still were exploring whether current data systems could be used to count the number of lead-safe housing units in HUD's rental assistance programs. We will continue to monitor HUD's effort to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of the Lead Office, in conjunction with PD&R, should finalize plans and develop a time frame for evaluating the effectiveness of the Lead Safe Housing and Lead Disclosure Rules, including an evaluation of the long-term cost effectiveness of the lead remediation methods required by the Lead Safe Housing Rule. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2019, HUD officials told us they planned to use data from the forthcoming update to the American Healthy Homes Survey to better estimate the prevalence of lead paint hazards in federally assisted housing which would provide an indication of the effectiveness of the lead paint rules. However, officials told us the findings from the updated survey likely would not be available until summer 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of the Lead Office should complete statutory reporting requirements, including but not limited to its efforts to make housing lead-safe through its lead grant programs and rental-assistance programs, and make the report publicly available. (Recommendation 9)

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2019, HUD officials told us they planned to issue a report to Congress on the agency's lead efforts in early 2020.

Rural Housing Service: Better Data Controls, Planning, and Additional Options Could Help Preserve Affordable Rental Units
GAO-18-285, May 17, 2018

Director: Daniel Garcia-Diaz
Phone: (202) 512-8678

6 open recommendations

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Recommendation: For RHS properties whose mortgages have matured, Congress should consider granting RHS the authority to renew annual rental assistance payments to owners who wish to continue to receive them and provide vouchers to tenants living in rental assistance units in properties whose owners choose to no longer receive rental assistance.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: In September 2019, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen introduced S. 2567 that proposed decoupling Section 521 rental assistance from the Section 515 mortgage, allowing rental assistance to continue after the mortgage is paid in full. The bill also would expand the use of the Section 542 Rural Development Voucher program to include all tenants in properties with loans that had matured, rather than just tenants in properties with prepaid mortgages. Sen. Shaheen's bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. As of September 2020, no additional action had been taken.

Recommendation: The RHS Administrator should establish additional controls to check the accuracy of all loan information entered into RHS information technology systems, to help ensure complete, accurate, and reliable data for estimating rural rental housing property exit dates. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: USDA said it would prioritize the development of options for the RHS Information Technology System , including dashboards and other protocols, to provide more analytical assessments and accurate data with respect to mortgage maturity dates and property-level information. It also said it would strengthen its partnership with Rural Development's Information Technology staff and develop more effective communication tools with RHS field personnel to highlight the importance of maintaining reliable data. USDA estimated it would complete these steps by September 30, 2019. However, as of May 2020, USDA officials had not provided us documentation of their efforts.

Recommendation: The RHS Administrator should establish a process to help ensure regular and frequent updates for the preservation tool and its underlying data. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: USDA said it would embed quality assurance in the preservation tool to ensure that the underlying data are accurately sourced, maintained, and analyzed. USDA also said it would ensure involvement from RHS National Office staff and RHS field office staff in this process to maximize the resources allocated to ensuring that the tool's data are integral and timely. Finally, USDA said RHS National Office personnel in the Deputy Administrator's office will be assigned quality control responsibility for the accurate maintenance of the tool. USDA estimated it would complete these steps by September 30, 2019. However, as of May 2020, USDA officials had not provided us documentation of their efforts.

Recommendation: The RHS Administrator should establish performance goals and measures for its rural rental housing preservation and rehabilitation efforts and report out these outcomes. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: USDA said it would incorporate preservation goals, objectives, and measures into its on-going updates and edits to handbook guidance. As an initial step, on June 4, 2018, the agency incorporated the guidance provided in the Unnumbered Letter titled "Dynamic Servicing Strategies for the Multi-family Housing Direct Loan Portfolio." The revisions also renamed Chapter 6 of the handbook to "Portfolio and Property Assessment." USDA said on-going guidance updates will prioritize preservation as the goal of servicing strategies and require program staff to exhaust all potential remedies to achieve this goal prior to proceeding to terminate assistance or otherwise not preserve the affordable housing property. USDA officials expected these and other steps to be completed by September 30, 2019. However, in May 2020, USDA officials said publication of the guidance had been delayed, and guidance was not expected to issue until early fiscal year 2022.

Recommendation: The RHS Administrator should monitor the results of rural rental housing preservation efforts and assess the degree to which those efforts yielded intended outcomes. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: USDA said that in conjunction with its establishment of preservation goals and objectives, it would utilize a performance tracking system and establish management routines to discuss and strategize how to achieve these goals. In November 2019, USDA officials said they had assessed the Section 515 Multi-Family Housing Preservation and Revitalization demonstration program and planned to finalize a plan that would enhance program delivery efficiency and consistency within 8 months (July 2020). However, as of May 2020, USDA officials had not provided documentation showing performance tracking or routine monitoring efforts. The officials said they planned to complete an evaluation of rural housing preservation goals or objectives by the third quarter of fiscal year 2022.

Recommendation: The RHS Administrator should identify, analyze, and respond to risks to achieving its preservation goals, including resource and staffing limitations. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: USDA said it would utilize a performance tracking system and establish management routines to discuss and strategize how to achieve its goals. According to USDA, this will include an assessment of challenges and risks that may affect the achievement of performance and preservation objectives. However, as of May 2020, USDA had not provided us documentation of its efforts to identify, analyze and respond to risks to achieving its preservation goals.

Rental Assistance Demonstration: HUD Needs to Take Action to Improve Metrics and Ongoing Oversight
GAO-18-123, Feb 20, 2018

Director: Daniel Garcia-Diaz
Phone: (202) 512-8678

2 open recommendations

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Rural Housing Service: Additional Actions Would Help Ensure Reasonableness of Rental Assistance Estimates
GAO-17-725, Sep 13, 2017

Director: Daniel Garcia-Diaz
Phone: (202) 512-8678

4 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Administrator of RHS should develop and implement a plan for ongoing monitoring, including testing and evaluation, of the obligation tool using relevant data. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2019, RHS said that implementing the recommendation would require information technology funding.

Recommendation: The Administrator of RHS should develop controls to check the reasonableness of rental assistance agreement amounts calculated by the obligation tool. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2019, RHS said that implementing the recommendation would require information technology funding.

Recommendation: The Administrator of RHS should develop controls to ensure that RHS uses the inflation rates from the President's economic assumptions in developing budget estimates. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2019, RHS said it would incorporate the recommended controls into the fiscal year 2021 budget cycle.

Recommendation: The Administrator of RHS should provide guidance to Rural Development state offices that specifies that prior to obligating funds, staff are to review information related to a property's mortgage servicing status. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Rural Housing Service
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2019, RHS said it was working toward providing the recommended guidance to Rural Development state offices.