Report Reveals Billions in Questionable Rental Assistance Payments
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) highlighted that over $5 billion in taxpayer funds were allocated to “suspicious” rental assistance recipients during the last year of the Biden administration. This includes approximately 30,000 payments made to individuals identified as “deceased tenants,” as well as “thousands” of potential noncitizens.
According to HUD officials, a significant portion of these questionable payments took place in states like New York, California, and Washington, D.C. Moreover, the report noted that some deceased recipients received funds across all 50 states. This situation has raised concerns about the misuse of taxpayer dollars during the Biden administration.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner expressed in a statement that extensive taxpayer abuse occurred under the previous administration, largely due to a lack of stringent fiscal controls, leading to billions potentially being misdirected.
Turner emphasized ongoing investigations into these troubling findings and mentioned that the Department is committed to holding those responsible accountable. He also stated that efforts are being made to strengthen the program’s integrity, building on foundations laid during the first Trump administration.
HUD’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFC) reported identifying nearly $5.8 billion in “questionable” payments out of a total of almost $50 billion in federal rental assistance distributed to various entities for the fiscal year 2024. A detailed report revealed that about 11% of HUD funds were given to over 200,000 likely ineligible tenants. Among these, 29,715 were recorded as deceased and an estimated 9,472 were identified as noncitizens. Additionally, 165,393 received amounts exceeding the aid thresholds, particularly in areas like New Orleans.
The HUD programs are primarily aimed at assisting individuals with low income who might otherwise struggle with securing shelter, which makes these findings all the more concerning as they may leave genuinely needy individuals without support.
Officials criticized the Biden administration for a directive that encouraged the swift distribution of funds with minimal oversight, asserting that this reliance on non-federal agencies to assess tenant eligibility placed significant trust in potentially flawed systems.
In response to the findings, HUD is set to reach out to public housing authorities and associated entities to gauge the extent of the fraud and may suspend or revoke funding where necessary. Furthermore, authorities intend to pursue criminal charges when appropriate.
In the ongoing efforts to ensure that bad actors are held accountable, HUD officials have put measures in place to revoke funding where misconduct is confirmed. The department signaled that criminal referrals or other enforcement actions may follow investigative outcomes.
From October 2023 to September 2024, approximately $33 billion was allocated for tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) and another $16 billion for project-based rental assistance (PBRA), all examined as part of the audit. The review flagged over 200,000 tenants for eligibility concerns under the TBRA program, with an estimated $4.3 billion of PBRA payments also experiencing similar issues.
Through a collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, HUD discovered that “thousands” of noncitizens accessed some form of Section 8 or 9 rental assistance despite lacking the necessary eligibility.
The financial documentation from HUD aims to align with President Trump’s promise for enhanced “accountability and transparency,” ensuring protection of taxpayer dollars from misuse.
In earlier audits, HUD’s Office of Inspector General had warned of the need for “substantial improvement” in fraud management as funds were rapidly injected into housing initiatives under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
By early 2024, a significant development occurred when federal prosecutors indicted 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) for allegedly receiving cash kickbacks from contractors, marking a major law enforcement milestone.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams labeled this event as “the largest single-day bribery bust in the history of the Department of Justice,” revealing a 10-year scheme involving $2 million in corrupt payments alongside $13 million in no-bid contracts.
NYCHA, which provides rental assistance to over 500,000 New Yorkers, received $3.86 billion from HUD in 2023. A March 2025 HUD audit indicated that the federal funds allocated to NYCHA were at “a higher risk of fraud” due to insufficient safeguards.
A spokesperson for NYCHA remarked that the agency is cooperating with law enforcement to eliminate the corruption that led to the recent arrests. All defendants linked to the DOI indictments were said to have been convicted and exited their positions. The authority has implemented various recommendations while also reorganizing its operational and procurement procedures.
Requests for comments from former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and Deputy Secretary Adrian Todman went unanswered.
