The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority Did Not Have Adequate Oversight of Lead-Based Paint in Its Public Housing

Official summary from the Oversight.gov

We audited the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority’s (Authority) management of lead‐based paint in its public housing program based on our assessment of the risks of lead‐based paint in public housing. We selected the Authority based on our assessment of the risks of lead‐based paint in public housing agencies’ (PHA) housing developments, including the age of buildings, the number of units, household demographics, and reported cases of childhood lead poisoning. The audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) complied with HUD’s requirements for children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) and (2) adequately managed lead‐based paint and lead‐based paint hazards in its public housing units. The Authority did not report three confirmed cases of children with EBLLs and the results of the environmental investigations to HUD. The Authority also did not (1) adequately address lead-based paint hazards identified by the environmental investigations of the units where two of the three children with confirmed EBLLs resided, and (2) notify tenants that resided in other units in those same buildings of lead-based paint hazard reduction activities. The Authority did not maint