Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP) Initiative Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Note: Please also see Admission and Occupancy (Related to EID), General Income and Rent Determination, Verification, and RIM Reviews FAQs for questions/answers on income and rent issues.

1. Question: What is RHIIP?

Answer: A 2001 initiative, the Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP) is a Secretarial priority designed to reduce income and rent errors and improper payments in the administration of public housing and Section 8 programs. RHIIP addresses HUD's high-risk status and corrects material management control weaknesses through a comprehensive approach that uncovers root causes of income and rent errors.

2. Question: What "comprehensive approach" is HUD taking, under the RHIIP initiative, to reduce rent calculation errors and improper payments?

Answer: HUD's comprehensive approach to reducing rent calculation errors and improper payments involves:

Simplifying overly complex program requirements and policies
Enhancing the occupancy knowledge and skills of HUD and PHA staff through training and technical assistance
Establishing incentives and sanctions necessary to improve program performance and accountability on the part of HUD, HUD's program intermediaries, and the tenants they serve.
Issuing updated occupancy guidebooks and other materials to assist administrators of public housing and Section 8 programs
Encouraging up-front income verification of income and wage information through independent sources
Conducting Rental Integrity Monitoring (RIM) Reviews, identifying root causes of income and rent errors and recommending necessary corrective actions for PHA improved performance.

3. Question: What is the current error rate for rent calculation errors and improper payments?

Answer: According to the HUD PD&R 2001 Quality Control for Rental Assistance Subsidies Determinations (QC) study, 60% of all rent and subsidy calculations contained some type of rent, administrative, or component error. PD&R is currently conducting a QC study to measure the Department's progress in reducing the number and dollar amounts of rent calculation and improper payments for 2003.

4. Question: How are rent, administrative, and component errors defined in the 2001 HUD PD&R study?

Answer: As defined in the 2001 HUD PD&R QC study:

Rent errors are errors that result in an actual dollar error. A dollar error means the household paid too much rent (an overpayment) or the household paid less rent than it should have paid (an underpayment).
Administrative errors are errors that result from mistakes in procedure (e.g., consistency errors, arithmetic errors, and transcription errors).
Component errors are the income and expense components used to calculate rent. The income components are employment income, Social Security and pensions, public assistance, etc.

5. Question: What, if any, goals have been set for reducing rent calculation errors and improper payments?

Answer: The President's Management Agenda for Fiscal Year 2002 mandated that HUD reduce by 50 percent both the frequency of calculation and processing errors and the amount of subsidy overpayment by 2005. In conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), HUD has established interim goals that call for:

A 15% reduction in the dollar amount of errors by FY 2003
A 30% reduction by FY 2004

6. Question: Does HUD offer any guidance, training, and/or technical assistance on income and rent determination to achieve such goals?

Answer: Yes. The Department does offer program guidance and training and technical assistance to enhance the occupancy knowledge and skills of HUD and PHA staff. This effort is a part of HUD's comprehensive approach to ensuring that incomes are properly verified and rents are calculated correctly.

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Related Information

- Admission and Occupancy (Related to EID)
- General Income and Rent Determination FAQs
- Verification FAQs
- Rental Integrity Monitoring (RIM) Reviews FAQs

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Content updated April 19, 2004 Follow this link to go Back to top

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