Major HUD Report Reveals Billions in Questionable Payments
A newly released report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has raised serious concerns about federal rental assistance spending during the final year of the Biden administration. The agency’s internal review found that billions of taxpayer dollars went to “questionable” recipients, including thousands of deceased tenants and potential non-citizens, highlighting weaknesses in oversight and eligibility verification across major housing programs.
What the HUD Report Found
According to HUD’s Agency Financial Report for fiscal year 2025, rental assistance programs distributed approximately $50 billion in federal aid. Of that total, about $5.8 billion (11%) was identified as questionable, meaning the funds were disbursed to recipients with eligibility issues or unclear status. AOL
The report flagged more than 200,000 rental assistance recipients whose eligibility couldn’t be confirmed, including:
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Roughly 30,000 individuals listed as deceased but still enrolled or receiving funds, and
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Thousands of individuals who may not have met citizenship or other eligibility requirements.
These findings were revealed through automated data cross-matching — including comparisons between HUD records and the U.S. Treasury database — a process meant to catch improper payments and mismatches.
Programs Under Scrutiny: PBRA and TBRA
The questionable payments span HUD’s two largest rental support programs:
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Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) — about $33 billion spent supporting more than 4 million households, and
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Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) — about $16 billion used for property-linked aid.
Of the funds reviewed, about $1.5 billion of TBRA and roughly $4.3 billion of PBRA payments showed potential eligibility issues — evidence of how widespread the concern may be across both major spending streams.
Where the Funds Were Most Concentrated
HUD officials noted spatial trends, indicating that questionable payments had large concentrations in major urban areas, including:
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New York
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California, and
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Washington, D.C.
However, the report also found problematic payments scattered across all 50 states, underscoring systemic issues rather than localized errors.
What HUD Officials Are Saying
HUD Secretary Scott Turner sharply criticized the lack of controls that allowed these payments to occur, saying the findings likely reflect “massive abuse of taxpayer dollars” under previous administrative practices. Turner said weaknesses in verification tools and minimal oversight created an environment where improper disbursements could happen.
HUD has said it will pursue deeper investigations, tighten monitoring processes, and may even pursue criminal referrals where fraud is verified.
Why the Findings Matter
The revelation comes at a time when housing affordability and federal spending integrity are already key issues in national policy debates. Questions about taxpayer stewardship become more politically and economically significant when billions of dollars are involved.
The findings raise broader concerns like:
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Whether current eligibility verification systems are robust enough,
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How future funding can be protected from improper use, and
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What accountability mechanisms must be improved across federal housing programs.
Systemic Issues Highlighted by HUD
The HUD report did not emerge in isolation. A separate audit from the HUD Office of Inspector General found that the agency has failed to comply with improper payment laws for multiple years and been unable to produce compliant estimates of improper payments for major programs — a pattern extending for nearly a decade.
For example:
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HUD’s inability to comply with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for rental programs suggests longstanding verification challenges, and
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The system that checks for improper payments — the Do Not Pay database — has not been fully implemented due to a lapsed data-sharing agreement that expired in 2019.
These structural gaps have contributed to vulnerabilities in financial oversight, making it harder to catch improper or questionable disbursements before they occur.
Response and Next Steps
HUD says it will use the findings to strengthen program integrity and improve transparency in how federal rental assistance funds are administered. Part of that process includes restoring compliance with improper payment laws, renewing data-sharing agreements, and improving coordination across offices and with external partners like the Treasury.
The agency has also pointed to ongoing efforts to recover misplaced or improperly allocated funds and identify savings where possible, even as debates about federal spending policy continue in Congress and across the executive branch.
Conclusion: Balancing Aid Delivery and Accountability
The HUD report on questionable rental assistance payments under the Biden administration has thrust federal housing policy into the spotlight. While the goal of rental support programs is to assist vulnerable homeowners and renters, the latest findings show there is work to be done to safeguard taxpayer funds and ensure aid reaches eligible recipients only.
As HUD and its partners refine controls and improve oversight tools, policymakers and citizens alike will be watching closely to see how the agency strengthens payment integrity and restores confidence in one of the nation’s largest housing assistance systems.
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