AFFORDABLE HOUSING
OVERSIGHT AUDIT

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Performance audit of the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD)'s oversight of the affordability, habitability, and financial viability of the City's affordable rental housing. The audit covers the period between 2020 and 2023.

Cover of the Affordable Housing Oversight Audit Report showing the title and Los Angeles Controller logo

KEY FINDINGS

  • LAHD's weak enforcement of affordability requirements has resulted in widespread and unaddressed noncompliance by properties with restricted affordable units
  • LAHD's inspection system has fallen short in addressing housing code violations, which threatens the health and safety of tenants contending with mold and infestations
  • LAHD's inadequate financial oversight, including its failure to properly assess and monitor the financial health of the City's inventory and loan portfolio, places the City's affordable housing inventory at risk
  • LAHD's siloed and reactive oversight strategy has hampered any efforts toward effective and efficient monitoring and tracking of affordable housing units.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Develop and implement an enforcement procedure to address cases of noncompliance.
  • Extend its financial oversight and risk-based monitoring system to all affordable housing projects, and incorporate information about risks it identifies.
  • Develop policies to better monitor and enforce the City's loan agreement requirements that impact its ability to conduct financial monitoring.
  • Develop and propose, for the City Council's consideration, a program to strategically preserve distressed affordable housing projects at risk of failing.
  • Develop policies to ensure that onsite audits for federally-funded rental projects are conducted at least once every three years.
  • Review at least annually the performance and compliance of each contractor it uses to carry out responsibilities under federally-funded affordable housing.
  • Develop property standards and inspection procedures for federally-funded rental projects that include how it will address mold and infestation issues.
  • Examine at least annually the financial condition of federally-funded rental projects and take actions to correct problems where feasible.
  • Develop a risk-based monitoring system to identify, assess, and respond to high-risk issues at federally-funded rental projects.
  • Reconcile project data in the Affordable Housing Inventory so that it can be relied on for oversight purposes.

CITY OF LA AFFORDABLE HOUSING STATISTICS

AFFORDABLE RESTRICTED RENTAL UNITS ACROSS ~1,600 PROPERTIES
AFFORDABLE RENTALS NEEDED TO ADDRESS LA'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE
OF HOUSEHOLDS (OVER 568,000 HOUSEHOLDS) IN THE CITY OF LA ARE LOWER-INCOME RENTERS