A federal financial review shows roughly 30,000 deceased tenants and thousands of other unverified recipients received taxpayer-funded rental aid nationwide under Biden administration policies.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A newly released financial review by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed that billions of dollars in rental assistance were paid to what the agency classified as “questionable” recipients during the Biden administration, including tens of thousands of deceased tenants and individuals whose eligibility could not be confirmed.
According to reporting by the New York Post, HUD’s fiscal year 2025 Agency Financial Report found that approximately 30,054 deceased tenants were either actively enrolled in federal rental assistance programs or continued receiving taxpayer funds after their deaths. HUD officials told the Post that payments to deceased recipients were identified in all 50 states, with a large concentration of funds flowing to New York, California, and Washington, D.C.
The findings stem from an automated internal review in which HUD compared its rental assistance records against a U.S. Treasury database. That process uncovered tens of thousands of cases involving payments issued after recipients had died, as well as thousands of cases involving individuals whose citizenship or eligibility status could not be verified, according to HUD’s own Agency Financial Report.
HUD Audit Finds Billions in Rental Aid Went to Deceased Tenants and Possible Noncitizens During Biden Admin… by yourNEWS Media
HUD said the questionable payments were discovered through its internal financial analytics rather than through an external audit. In fiscal year 2024, the department distributed approximately $50 billion in rental assistance to non-federal entities. Of that total, $5.8 billion was flagged in the report as potentially improper or questionable.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the findings reflect widespread oversight failures during the Biden administration.
“A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions worth of potential improper payments,” Turner said in a statement provided to the Post. He said the department would continue investigating the findings and pursue accountability measures.
Turner added that HUD is advancing program integrity efforts first initiated during President Donald Trump’s first administration to ensure federal assistance reaches eligible recipients. “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable,” he said, adding that the goal is to ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended to help.
In its report, HUD attributed part of the problem to a Biden-era directive that prioritized rapidly distributing funds with limited oversight. The department said it lacked sufficient tools to verify whether state and local entities were properly enforcing “the intricate rules governing rental assistance,” noting that HUD programs placed “substantial trust and responsibility” in non-federal administrators.
HUD officials said the department must now determine whether fraud occurred and assess the extent of it before deciding whether funding should be paused or revoked and whether criminal referrals are warranted.
“HUD is implementing processes and procedures to revoke or pause funding as part of its efforts to hold bad actors accountable,” an agency official told the Post. The official added that once fraud is confirmed, HUD could pursue criminal referrals and other enforcement actions.
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