An audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) public housing program uncovered as many as 25,226 families whose income exceeded HUD’s 2014 eligibility income limits were receiving assistance. Of these 25,226 families, 17,761 had earned more than the qualifying amount for more than 1 year.
HUD regulations require families to meet eligibility income limits only when they are admitted to the public housing program and once accepted there is no limitation on the length of time families may stay in public housing. However, HUD’s December 2004 public housing final rule gave public housing authorities discretion to establish and implement policies that would require families with incomes above the eligibility income limits to find housing in the unassisted market. The 15 housing authorities contacted by the federal authorities choose to allow overincome families to reside in public housing. HUD did not encourage them to require overincome families to find housing in the unassisted market.
As a result, HUD did not assist as many low-income families in need of housing as it could have. They estimate HUD will pay $104.4 million over the next year for public housing units occupied by overincome families that otherwise could have been used to house low-income families. Although it would be reasonable to expect that a minimum number of overincome families would reside in public housing at any time, HUD can significantly reduce the number of overincome families that reside in public housing.
HUD officials are now directing housing authorities to establish policies to reduce the number of overincome families in public housing, thereby putting as much as an estimated $104.4 million to better use by using those funds to help eligible low-income families in need of housing assistance.
