Department of Housing and Urban Development March 11, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, as amended, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Guidance on the statute (5U.S.C. 552a, as amended), HUD is notifying the public of its intent to enter into a new computer matching program with SSA in May 2009. HUD will obtain SSA data and make the results available to (1) program administrators such as public housing agencies (PHAs) and private owners and management agents (O/As) to enable them to verify the accuracy of income reported by the tenants (participants) of HUD rental assistance programs and (2) contract administrators (CAs) overseeing and monitoring O/A operations as well as independent public auditors (IPAs) that audit both PHAs and O/As. SSA data will also be used to validate information provided by borrowers and co-borrowers applying for and obtaining insurance for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages. Administrators of HUD rental assistance programs rely upon the accuracy of tenant-reported income to determine participant eligibility for and level of, rental assistance. The computer matching program will provide indicators of potential under-reported tenant income that will require additional verification to identify inappropriate (excess or insufficient) rental assistance, and perhaps administrative or legal actions. The matching program will be carried out to detect inappropriate (excessive or insufficient) rental assistance under sections 221(3), 221(d)(5), and 236 of the National Housing Act, the United States Housing Act of 1937, section 101 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1965, section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959, section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, and the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998. The program will also provide for verification of Social Security numbers (SSNs) for tenants participating in covered rental assistance programs, and borrowers and co-borrowers applying for mortgage insurance for FHA loans through HUD. This Notice provides an overview of computer matching for HUD's rental assistance programs. Specifically, the Notice describes HUD's program for computer matching of its tenant data to SSA's death data, Social Security (SS) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits data.