OIG-CA-25-056: Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA 1) Program Notice of Recoupment – State of Florida
Summary
Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General document OIG-CA-25-056, dated August 25, 2025, Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA 1) Program Notice of Recoupment - State of Florida. The summary states that the ERA 1 statute directs Treasury OIG to monitor and oversee grantee use of funds and that funds used in violation are booked as a debt owed to the Federal Government. It states that from February 2023 through January 2024 OIG made inquiries to the State of Florida about 12 complaints of suspected fraud reported to the OIG hotline, and determined that $98,610 was disbursed to ineligible households. It states that on August 20, 2025 the Bureau of the Fiscal Service issued an invoice for $98,610 to the State of Florida.
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- Oig Ca 25 056 Era1 Program Notice Of Recoupment State Of Florida
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“OIG-CA-25-056: Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA 1) Program Notice of Recoupment – State of Florida.”
Original at oig.treasury.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/oig-ca-25-056-era1-program-notice-of-recoupment-state-of-florida/
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASH I NGTON , D.C. 20220
OFFICE OF
INSP ECTOR GENERAL
OIG-CA-25-056
August 25, 2025
Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA 1) Program
Notice of Recoupment - State of Florida
Summary
Th e ERA 1 statute (Division N, Title V, Subtitle A, § 501, of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260), Dec. 27, 2020, and codified at 15
USC § 9058a) directs the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to make
al locations and payments to eligible grantees such as States and local
governments, who in-turn, make funding avai lable in t he form of rental assistance
to eligible households. Th e statute also di rects the Treasury Office of Inspector
General (OIG ) to conduct monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement,
and use of funds made available to grantees. As part of this oversight autho rity, if
OIG determines that a grantee failed to comply with the use of funds
requ irements in the statute, the amount equal to t he amount of funds used in
violation shall be booked as a debt of such entity owed to the Federal
Government.
Th e State of Florida is a recipient of funds under the ERA 1 statute. Begi nning
February 2023 t hrough January 2024, we made inquiries to t he State of Florid a
regard ing 12 compla ints of suspected fraud related to its ERA1 award reported to
the OIG hotline. Based on the information provided, we determined that the State
of Florida's ERA 1 program paid out ERA 1 funds total ing $98,610 in violation of the
ERA 1 statute because the funds were disbursed to ineligible households. On
August 20, 2025, Treasu ry's Bureau of the Fiscal Service issued an invoice for
$98,610 to State of Florida establishing a debt to the Federal Government.
Th e following document is OIG's Notice of Recoupment (Notice) t hat established
this debt. Th e State of Florida was given an opportunity to provide a written
response to a draft of the Notice and its written response and our evaluation of
that response is also included in the Notice.
We conducted our review of this ERA case from February 2023 to August 2025.
We inquired of the grantee and other relevant parties, reviewed related
documentation, and performed other appropriate procedures. We believe the
evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a reasonable basis for
our determination in this Notice.
In conducting our review, we followed the OIG’s system of quality management
for ensuring that the information in this report is accurate. We also followed the
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Quality
Standards for Federal Offices of Inspector General which require that our work
adheres to its general standards for integrity to include objectivity, independence,
professional judgment, and confidentiality as well as its general standard for
receiving and reviewing allegations.
Distribution
Department of the Treasury
Jeffrey W. Stout, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Office of Capital Access
Danielle Christensen, Deputy Chief Program Officer for State & Local
Programs, Office of Capital Access
Kendra N. Young-Freeman, Director, Housing Programs, Office of Capital
Access
Michelle Dickerman, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of the
General Counsel
Carolyn Appel, Attorney-Advisor, Office of the General Counsel
Blossom Butcher-Sumner, Attorney-Advisor, Office of the General Counsel
State of Florida
ii
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON , D.C. 20220
OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
Notice of Recoupment
Emergency Rental Assistance
Division N, Title V, Subtitle A, § 501 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
(Pub. L. No. 116-260), Dec. 27, 2020, and codified at 15 USC§ 9058a (ERA1)
August 18, 2025
Grantee: State of Florid a
Poi nts of Contact: Bridget Royster, Assistant Secretary
Florida Department of Children and Fami lies
(b) (6)
Christina Smith, Policy Coordinator
Christina .Smith @laspbs.state. fl .us
Mailing Address: 200 E Gaines St, Tallah assee, FL 32399
Federal Award Identification Number: ERA0349
Proposed Recoupment Amount: $98,610.00
Background/Legal Authority
Under t he ERA 1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c), Use of Funds, an eligible grantee
sha ll only use ERA 1 award funds to provide financial assistance and housing
stability services to eligible households. Th e financial assistance incl udes: the
payment of rent; rent arrears; utilities and home energy costs; utilities and home
energy costs arrears; and other expenses re lated to housing i ncurred due, di rectly
or indirectly, to the COVID-19 o utbreak, as defined by the Secretary of t he
Department of the Treasury (Treasury). Such assistance shal l be provided for a
period not to exceed 12 months except t hat gra ntees may provide assistance for
an additional 3 m o nths to ensure housing stability (subject to avai lability of
funds). The ERA 1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c)(2)(B)(i) allows for up to 3 m o nths
(with exceptions) for prospective rent payments within the 12 or 15 m onth total
assistance limitation.
Th e ERA 1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(k)(3)(A) defines eligib le household as a
household of 1 or more individuals w ho are ob lig ated to pay rent on a residential
1
dwelling and with respect to which the eligible grantee involved determines:
(1) that one or more individuals within the household has (a) qualified for
unemployment benefits or (b) experienced a reduction in household income,
incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or
indirectly, to the COVID-19 outbreak, which the applicant shall attest in writing;
(2) that one or more individuals within the household can demonstrate a risk of
experiencing homelessness or housing instability, which may include (a) a past
due utility or rent notice or eviction notice; (b) unsafe or unhealthy living
conditions; or (c) any other evidence of such risk, as determined by the eligible
grantee involved; and (3) the household has a household income that is not more
than 80 percent of the area median income for the household. In accordance with
the ERA1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(k)(3)(B), the grantee must also ensure that,
to the extent feasible, any rental assistance provided to an eligible household is
not duplicative of any other federally funded rental assistance provided to such
household.
Pursuant to the ERA1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(e)(2), the last day of the period
of performance for grantees that received ERA1 reallocated funds is December 29,
2022.
The ERA1 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(i), Inspector General Oversight;
Recoupment, directed that Treasury’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) conduct
monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds made
available under the ERA1 program. As part of this authority, if OIG determines
that a grantee failed to comply with the use of funds requirements in ERA1 statute
(15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c)), the amount equal to the amount of funds used in violation
of 15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c) shall be booked as a debt of such grantee owed to the
Federal Government. Amounts recovered shall be deposited into the general fund
of the Treasury.
Facts and Analysis
Beginning February 2023 through January 2024, we made inquiries to the State of
Florida (Florida)1 regarding 12 complaints of suspected fraud related to its ERA1
award program reported to the OIG hotline. Florida had reported 10 of the
complaints 2 and tenants reported the other 2 complaints. Based on Florida’s
response to our inquiries and documentation provided, we determined that
Florida failed to comply with the Use of Funds statute (15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c)) when
1
These inquiries were directed to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), a state agency tasked to
operate the Our Florida Program, Florida’s ERA program.
2
Although the complainant for the 10 complaints filed them anonymously with the OIG hotline, we determined
that the information reported originated from a source within the Our Florida program as the complaints contain
detailed information including application data, award details, case summaries, and contact information for a DCF
employee who did provide further information.
2
it paid out ERA1 award funds totaling $98,610 for 11 of the 12 cases, as described
below: 3
Florida Reported Complaints
-
1. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $15,000 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a landlord. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Identification Documents in File – Missing
Standard ID features.” Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29, 2022,
seeking valid copies of the documents and advising that the funds would be
required to be returned for failure to respond. When no response was
received, Florida sent the landlord a “Notice of Overpayment and
Recoupment” on August 9, 2022, asking for repayment of the $15,000. As of
February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds have not been repaid. Florida
paid ERA1 assistance based on an application that lacked valid identity
documentation to establish eligibility and therefore Florida cannot establish
an eligible use of funds. Accordingly, we determined that rental assistance
paid, in the amount of $15,000, is an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to
comply with the requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
2. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $15,000 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a tenant. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File –
Inconsistency between documents, Landlord name does not match
application.” Florida sent a letter to the tenant on July 29, 2022, seeking valid
copies of the documents and advising that the funds would be required to be
returned for failure to respond. When no response was received, Florida sent
the tenant a “Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment” on August 9, 2022,
asking for repayment of $15,000. As of February 7, 2025, Florida stated that
the funds have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance based on an
application that lacked valid lease/landlord documentation to establish an
obligation to pay rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of
funds. Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the
amount of $15,000, is an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply
with the requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
3. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $15,000 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a landlord. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Identification Documents in File – Missing
Standard ID features” and “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File –
Inconsistency between documents.” Florida sent a letter to the landlord on
July 29, 2022, seeking valid copies of the documents and advising funds
3
As discussed in the Grantee Response section of this Notice, we determined that the payment for
1 of the 12 cases was eligible.
3
would be required to be returned for failure to respond. When no response
was received, Florida sent the landlord a “Notice of Overpayment and
Recoupment” on August 9, 2022, asking for repayment of the $15,000. As of
February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds have not been repaid. Florida
paid ERA1 assistance on an application that lacked valid identification and
lease/landlord documentation to establish an obligation to pay rent and
therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of funds. Accordingly, we
determined that the rental assistance paid, in the amount of $15,000, is an
ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply with the requirements of
the ERA1 statute.
-
4. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $12,040 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a landlord. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Identification Documents in File – Blurry or
Illegible” and “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File – Inconsistency
between documents.” Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29, 2022,
seeking valid copies of the documents and advising funds would be required
to be returned for failure to respond. When no response was received, Florida
sent the landlord a “Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment” on August 9,
2022, asking for repayment of the $12,040. As of February 7, 2025, Florida
stated that the funds have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on
an application that lacked valid identification and lease/landlord
documentation to establish an obligation to pay rent and therefore Florida
cannot establish an eligible use of funds. Accordingly, we determined that
the rental assistance paid, in the amount of $12,040, is an ineligible ERA1
expenditure that failed to comply with the requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
5. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $11,250 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a landlord. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined that all or a portion of the payment was invalid due to “Invalid
Lease/Landlord Documentation in File – Inconsistency between documents,
Landlord name missing, Missing term, Missing two signatures” and “Invalid
Household Income Verification in File – Unemployment or public benefits
documentation is inactive.” Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29,
2022, seeking valid copies of the documents and advising funds would be
required to be returned for failure to respond. After a response was received,
but ultimately denied by Florida, it sent the landlord a “Notice of
Overpayment and Recoupment” on August 9, 2022, asking for repayment of
the $11,250. As of February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds have not
been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on an application that lacked valid
identification and lease/landlord documentation to establish an obligation to
pay rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of funds.
Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the amount of
4
$11,250, is an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply with the
requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
6. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $9,600 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a landlord. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File –
Inconsistency between documents, Landlord name does not match
application.” Florida also determined that the landlord on the lease did not
own the property address. Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29,
2022, seeking valid copies of the documents and advising funds would be
required to be returned for failure to respond. When no response was
received, Florida sent the landlord a “Notice of Overpayment and
Recoupment” on August 9, 2022, asking for repayment of the $9,600. As of
February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds have not been repaid. Florida
paid ERA1 assistance on an application that lacked valid lease/landlord
documentation to establish an obligation to pay rent and therefore Florida
cannot establish an eligible use of funds. Accordingly, we determined that
the rental assistance paid, in the amount of $9,600, is an ineligible ERA1
expenditure that failed to comply with the requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
7. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $7,770 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a tenant. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in file –
Inconsistency between documents” and that the landlord’s driver’s license
appeared to be altered. Florida sent a letter to the tenant on October 31, 2022,
seeking valid copies of the documents and advising funds would be required
to be returned for failure to respond. When no response was received, Florida
sent the tenant a “Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment” on November
14, 2022, asking for repayment of the $7,770. As of February 7, 2025, Florida
stated that the funds have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on
an application that lacked valid lease/landlord documentation to establish an
obligation to pay rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of
funds. Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the
amount of $7,770, was an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply
with the requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
8. For application #FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $8,380 in rental assistance with
$5,350 in ERA1 award funds and $3,030 in ERA2 award funds to a landlord.
Subsequent to the payment, Florida determined there were “Invalid
Lease/Landlord Documentation in File – Inconsistency between documents.”
Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29, 2022, seeking valid copies of
the documents and advising funds would be required to be returned for
failure to respond. When no response was received, Florida sent the landlord
a “Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment” on August 9, 2022, asking for
5
repayment of the $8,380. As of February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds
have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on an application that
lacked valid lease/landlord documentation to establish an obligation to pay
rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of funds.
Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the amount of
$5,350, was an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply with the
requirements of the ERA1 statute.
-
9. For application # FL-(b) (6) Florida paid $1,000 in rental assistance with
ERA1 award funds to a tenant. Subsequent to the payment, Florida
determined there were “Invalid Identification Documents in File – Blurry or
Illegible” and “Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File – Inconsistency
between documents, Landlord name does not match application. ” Florida
sent a letter to the tenant on November 4, 2022, seeking valid copies of the
documents and advising funds would be required to be returned for failure to
respond. When no response was received, Florida sent the tenant a “Notice
of Overpayment and Recoupment” on November 18, 2022, asking for
repayment of the $1,000. As of February 7, 2025, Florida stated that the funds
have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on an application that
lacked valid lease/landlord documentation to establish an obligation to pay
rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of funds.
Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the amount of
$1,000, was an ineligible ERA1 expenditure that failed to comply with the
requirements of the ERA1 statute.
Tenant Reported Complaints
-
10. For application #FL(b) (6) , Florida paid $7,500 in rental assistance with
$3,750 in ERA1 award funds and $3,750 in ERA2 award funds to a landlord.
Florida responded to our inquiry that it had previously determined there were
“Invalid Lease/Landlord Documentation in File – Inconsistency between
documents.” Florida sent a letter to the landlord on July 29, 2022, seeking
valid copies of the documents and advising funds would be required to be
returned for failure to respond. When no response was received, Florida sent
the landlord a ”Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment” on August 9, 2022,
asking for repayment of the $7,500. As of February 7, 2025, Florida stated that
the funds have not been repaid. Florida paid ERA1 assistance on an
application that lacked valid lease/landlord documentation to establish an
obligation to pay rent and therefore Florida cannot establish an eligible use of
funds. Accordingly, we determined that the rental assistance paid, in the
6
amount of $3,750, was an ineligible ERA 1 expenditure that failed to comply
w ith the requirements of the ERA 1 statute. 4
11. For appli cation #FL[Q)lm■ , Florida paid $8,686 in rental assistance with
$2,850 in ERA 1 award funds and $5,836 in ERA2 award funds to a land lord.
Florida responded to our inquiry that it had previo usly determ ined that rental
assist ance was inco rrectly paid to the wrong landlord. As a result, Florida
sent the payee a "Notice of Overpayment" o n May 6, 2022, June 5, 2022and
July 5, 2022, seeking repayment of the $8,686. As of February 7, 2025, Flo rid a
st ated that the funds have not been repaid. Accordingly, we determined that
the rental assistance paid, in the amount of $2,850, is an ineligible ERA 1
expenditure that failed to comply with the requi rem ents of the ERA 1 statut e
because the payment was sent to the wrong payee. 5
Th ese 11 cases are summarized as follows :
State of Florida Ineligible ERA1 Financial
Case Application No. Assistance Payments
Florida Reported Complaints
1 FL- $15,000.00
2 FL- 15,000.00
3 FL- 15,000.00
4 FL- 12,040.00
5 FL- 11,250.00
6 FL- 9,600.00
7 FL- 7,770.00
8 FL- 5,350.00
9 FL- 1,000.00
Tenant Reported Complaints
10 FL- • 3,750.00
11 FL 2,850.00
Total $98,610.00
Based on the informatio n provided, we determ ined that Florida failed to comply
w ith the use of fu nds requ irem ent in the ERA 1 statute (15 U.S.C. § 9058a(c)) when
it paid out ERA1 awa rd fu nds total ing $98,610 to ineligible households.
Accord ingly, these funds are required to be returned to the Federal Government.
Grantee Response
We provided Florida an opportunity to respond to our Pro posed Notice of
Recoupment. On May 23, 2025, the Assistant Secretary, Office of Economic Self
4
We issued a drah Questioned Cost Finding for t he payment of ERA2 award funds, in t he amount of $3,750, t hat
we determined was ineligible under the ERA2 statute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058c(d), Use of Funds.
5
We issued a drah Questioned Cost Finding for t he ERA2 award funds, in t he amount of $5,836, that we
determined was ineligible under t he ERA2 st atute at 15 U.S.C. § 9058c(d), Use of Funds.
7
Sufficiency, Florida Department of Children and Families, provided its written
response by email, which is included verbatim as follows:
The Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program was originally
authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and
continued under The American Rescue Plan of 2021.
In the state of Florida, the Florida Department of Children and
Families (Department) oversaw the statewide ERA program and was
successful in providing more than $1.4 billion in ERA benefits to
Floridians through implementation and completion of the program in
September 2022.
During the rollout and implementation of ERA during the Biden
Administration, the program was operated through federal regulation
and “Frequently Asked Questions” that evolved throughout the
program and lacked important specificities, and provided inadequate
requirements that did not consider the overall integrity of the
program. Specifically, guidance regarding the verification of
individual’s eligibility included self-attestations. Communication from
federal partners was to obligate and spend the funds as quickly as
possible, while under continuous threat of funds being removed if
certain benchmarks were not met.
Additionally, the Department hired a vendor to amplify the
administration of the program to ensure eligible Floridians who were
impacted were able to access the funds. The Department took a
methodical approach utilizing federal guidance available at the time
to develop requirements, ensure and enforce integrity within the
program, and implement additional steps in the eligibility process to
rectify the otherwise lax guidance provided by the Biden
Administration that did not require landlord participation and relied
on self-attestations.
With a proven performance record in Florida of prioritizing both
timeliness and integrity, the Department went a step further and
developed a multi-step eligibility determination process which
included a higher-level quality assurance review process, and an
additional post-payment review to monitor and track eligibility
determinations. The implementation of both the second-level quality
assurance review process prior to the eligibility determination and
payment coupled with the post payment review ensured the program
upheld the State’s commitment to effective and efficient service
delivery and conservative stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Moreover,
if at any point in the Department-implemented post-payment review
8
process it was determined that a payment was made in error, either
by the applicant or staff, the process required that attempts be made
to recover the funds through recoupment letters.
Florida’s quality assurance review process on both the front and back
end of the eligibility determination was developed and executed as a
leading practice when the program was implemented in 2021. Three
years later and after the last ERA payment in the State of Florida was
made in September 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury provided
updated guidance in November 2024 stating “Treasury recognizes
the unique emergency circumstances in which the ERA programs
were implemented and that attempts to recoup non-fraudulent
improper payments from ERA beneficiaries could undermine the
purpose of the ERA program if collection efforts place tenants at risk
of eviction or housing instability…”
Florida has a demonstrated track record of delivery for the people we
serve which includes safeguarding taxpayer dollars for the people
who need it most. Again, providing efficient service delivery that
keeps program integrity at the forefront and demanding government
run effectively. Florida far surpassed the provided federal guidelines
and developed integrity and recoupment processes that prevented
potential errors. However, in these identified 11 applications out of
the 224,266 total approved applications (0.004%), and despite utilizing
the self-imposed eligibility determination and post-payment review
processes, the Department was unable to recoup the identified funds,
due to lack of response from recipients. The Department went above
and beyond the federal guidance to ensure the safeguarding of funds
and made every attempt to recoup funds when identified. Therefore,
the state of Florida should not be required to repay funds three years
after the conclusion of the program, when every effort was made to
recoup the funds.
In its response, Florida also commented that for a specific case involving a
payment of $6,400 included in the draft Notice of Recoupment, its further review
found that the application was supported by valid documentation. We reviewed
Florida’s additional documentation provided at our request and determined that
the payment was eligible. Accordingly, we removed that payment from this
Notice.
OIG Evaluation
We considered Florida’s response in finalizing the Notice of Recoupment. It should
be noted that Florida characterized these application payments as “invalid” in its
9
recapture letters to beneficiaries. Except for one application for $6,400, Florida’s
response did not provide any additional evidence to demonstrate that the
financial assistance provided for the subject applications was eligible.
In its written response, Florida makes certain references to Treasury’s ERA FAQs
and guidance that are not contextually accurate or applicable. According to
Florida, this guidance “lacked important specificities and provided inadequate
requirements that did not consider the overall integrity of the program.
Specifically, guidance regarding the verification of individual’s eligibility included
self-attestations.” The implication here is that Treasury’s FAQs did not provide
adequate instructions on how grantees were to establish eligibility using self-
attestations. We reject this implication.
In FAQ1, Treasury states that “grantees may be flexible as to the particular form
of documentation they require to determine eligibility, including by permitting
photocopies or digital photographs of documents, e-mails, or attestations from
employers, landlords, caseworkers, or others with knowledge of the household’s
circumstances.” Treasury also directs grantees “must require all applications for
assistance to include an attestation from the applicant that all the information
included is correct and complete.” In short, this FAQ provides specific instructions
that requires eligibility to be documented, with attestations as to the veracity of
the information provided. We do note that FAQ1 permits grantees to rely on self-
attestations alone for the provision of housing stability services. 6 Also, Treasury’s
FAQ4 does provide for grantees to rely on written self-attestations of a
household’s income if the household is unable to provide income documentation;
however, Treasury directs in this situation that the grantee must reassess the
household’s income every 3 months, by obtaining appropriate documentation or a
6
According to Treasury’s FAQ1: “When housing stability services represent the only ERA1 assistance a household
will receive (i.e., no payments using ERA1 funds will be made either to the household, to the landlord, or to a utility
provider), grantees are encouraged to rely on a household’s self-attestations for purposes of confirming eligibility.”
10
new self-attestation. These FAQs explicitly state the requirements when using
self-attestations to establish eligibility. 7
Despite Treasury’s self-attestation requirements, Florida determined these
applications were invalid based on the applicants’ inadequate identification and/or
lease/landlord documentation, not self-attestations for eligibility. For example,
these included missing signatures, inconsistencies between documents, and
manipulated identification documents.
Florida also asserts that per Treasury guidance “attempts to recoup non-
fraudulent improper payments from ERA beneficiaries could undermine the
purpose of the ERA program if collection efforts place tenants at risk of eviction or
housing instability.” This statement is from Treasury’s ERA FAQ49. While
accurate, it has no bearing on Florida’s obligation to return ineligible payments to
the Federal Government. As Treasury’s ERA FAQ49 also states “… grantees are
responsible for improper payments made with ERA funds, including those that
were not the result of fraud or deliberate misrepresentations ...”
Based on our evaluation of Florida’s response to OIG’s Draft Notice of
Recoupment, Florida has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the
financial assistance provided for the subject applications were for eligible
households. In accordance with ERA1 statute and Treasury program guidance,
$98,610 are required to be returned to the Federal Government.
7
In its response, Florida also commented that, among other things, guidance which it
characterized as lax did not require landlord participation in the program. While this point is not
germane to the facts of the 11 cases as that are the subject of this Notice (the payments were
made to the landlord for 8 cases and the tenant for 3 cases), we note that the ERA1 law at 15 USC §
9058a(c)(2)(C)(i) did not require landlord participation. This citation states:
With respect to financial assistance for rent and rental arrears and utilities and
home energy costs and utility and home energy costs arrears provided to an
eligible household from a payment made under this section, an eligible grantee
shall make payments to a lessor or utility provider on behalf of the eligible
household, except that, if the lessor or utility provider does not agree to accept
such payment from the grantee after outreach to the lessor or utility provider by
the grantee, the grantee may make such payments directly to the eligible
household for the purpose of making payments to the lessor or utility provider.
11
File and source
- File
- OIG-CA-25-056-era1-program-notice-of-recoupment-state-of-florida.pdf
- Size
- 780,684 bytes
- SHA-256
- 7717f2b2b75a5b6ae386c0adedca925b2c7cfac171ba0febb74e5e5c27bd3c48
- Original
- oig.treasury.gov