HOME and HOME ARP Draws Made Near Hold in Federal Funding Were Premature and Improper Payments

Official summary from the Oversight.gov

We identified a significant increase in the amount of funds drawn by HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and HOME American Rescue Plan (ARP) grantees near the time of the January 2025, hold in Federal funds, which increased the risk that the funds may have been drawn prematurely, without support, or used improperly. Therefore, our audit objective was to identify if HOME and HOME ARP draws made near the time of the hold in federal funds were in accordance with program requirements. Out of eight grantees selected for review, two (New York City and the City of Anaheim) violated program requirements when they prematurely drew HOME and HOME ARP funds near the time of the hold in federal funds and made improper payments. New York City and its subrecipient, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), could not adequately support how $81.9 million in HOME ARP funds were used for a tenant arrears program, of which, over $6 million was used for ineligible tenants that were over the allowable income limit. Both grantees drew a combined total of over $87 million in HOME and HOME ARP funds in advance of their immediate needs, in violation of program requirements. Further, the City of A