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Housing

Open Recommendations

Military Housing: DOD Should Address Critical Supply and Affordability Challenges for Service Members

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6 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment clarifies the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) role in oversight of the military services' Housing Requirements and Market Analysis (HRMA) process in guidance to help ensure that the military services conduct HRMAs in a timely manner and that DOD submits to Congress required lists of planned HRMAs for each fiscal year. (Recommendation 1)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, performs a structured analysis to develop a comprehensive list of critical housing areas. In conducting analysis to develop this list, DOD should consider the unique characteristics of a location, such as vacation rental areas. (Recommendation 2)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, regularly updates the list of identified critical housing areas. (Recommendation 3)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the military services, obtains and uses feedback on the financial and quality-of-life effects of limited supply or unaffordable housing on service members, through the Status of Forces survey and other service or installation-specific feedback mechanisms. (Recommendation 4)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the military services, develops a plan for how the department can respond to and address the financial and quality-of-life effects in critical housing areas once those areas are identified, such as through feasible solutions to increase housing supply or through additional strategies such as alternative compensation. (Recommendation 5)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment provides updated guidance to the services on how installations should coordinate with local communities, including clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of installation commanders and military housing offices in addressing housing needs. (Recommendation 6)	Open DOD concurred with this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Rental Housing: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Assistance to Survivors of Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault

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7 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Housing and Urban Development	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Director on Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Equity finalizes a revised model emergency transfer plan that meets all VAWA regulatory requirements. (Recommendation 1)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Assistant Secretary for PIH provides written instructions to PHAs, such as through notices or frequently asked questions, on how to implement emergency transfers, including information related to external transfers and coordination. (Recommendation 2)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing provides written instructions to PBRA providers, such as through notices or frequently asked questions, on how to implement emergency transfers, including information related to external transfers and coordination. (Recommendation 3)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing revises the management and occupancy review form (HUD-9834) to incorporate specific questions on PBRA properties' compliance with VAWA emergency transfer requirements. (Recommendation 4)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Director on Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Equity finalizes a regulation implementing the compliance review requirements of VAWA 2022, including defining standards of compliance and standards for corrective action plans. (Recommendation 5)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure the Assistant Secretary for PIH develops and implements a plan, including a timeline, for PIH to collect the required data on emergency transfers from PHAs. (Recommendation 6)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

HUD Rental Assistance: Improved Guidance and Oversight Needed for Utility Allowances

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5 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Housing and Urban Development	The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research develop a plan to solicit feedback on usability challenges that PHAs may face using HUSM. (Recommendation 1)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing works with the Customer Experience Division to make utility allowance guidance more available and accessible on HUD's website, including by improving website navigability and optimizing the search bar. (Recommendation 2)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing includes feedback mechanisms and HUD contact information in utility allowance guidance or on HUD guidance web pages for PHAs. (Recommendation 3)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing takes initial steps toward collecting PHAs' utility allowance schedules for the Public Housing program, such as determining how existing IT systems could be leveraged or modified to capture the information, defining the content and format of PHA reporting, and estimating associated costs. (Recommendation 4)	Open 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	The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing develops mechanisms to regularly analyze utility allowance data for patterns that indicate a risk of noncompliance with HUD requirements and incorporates such analysis into monitoring reviews of PHAs. (Recommendation 5)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Emergency Rental Assistance: Treasury Should Improve Data Completeness and Public Reporting

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1 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of the Treasury	The Secretary of the Treasury should ensure that the Chief of the Office of Capital Access revise ERA2 public reports to include language disclosing details on potential underreporting of ERA2 expenditures, demographic information, and payments to households, and on local jurisdictions' transfer of funds. (Recommendation 1)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

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GAO Contacts

Alicia Puente Cackley

Director

Financial Markets and Community Investment

cackleya@gao.gov

Dan Garcia-Diaz

Managing Director

Financial Markets and Community Investment

garciadiazd@gao.gov