The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report, “Department of Housing and Urban Development: 2025 Workforce and Spending Changes” (GAO-26-108442), examining significant changes to HUD’s workforce, grant and contract spending, and program operations during 2025.
The report, released on October 14, 2026, highlights operational challenges reported by housing stakeholders, including affordable housing owners and managers participating in HUD's Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program. For your review, the Full GAO Report and Highlights are attached or available here: View the GAO Report Summary and Findings
Key Findings from the GAO Report:
- Significant HUD Workforce Reductions: HUD's workforce declined by 29% between December 2024 and December 2025. More than half of departing employees had at least 10 years of HUD service, including 41% with more than 20 years of experience.
- Loss of Experienced HUD Contacts: Nearly all of the 20 stakeholder organizations interviewed by GAO reported losing experienced HUD points of contact, contributing to confusion, communication challenges, and difficulties navigating HUD programs.
- Operational Delays and Disruptions: Stakeholders, including Section 8 PBRA property managers, reported administrative challenges and operational disruptions. Some also reported delays in physical inspections of HUD-assisted properties.
- Changes to HUD Grants and Contracts: Approximately half of HUD's 68 active grant programs made new awards in FY 2025. HUD also terminated approximately 21% of its active contracts, valued at roughly $367 million, primarily involving professional and information technology services.
- HUD Modernization Initiatives: HUD has announced efforts to streamline operations, including a unified grants system and an initiative to automate aspects of rental assistance processing. However, GAO noted that HUD did not provide requested documentation or information needed to assess the status and effectiveness of these initiatives.
NAHMA Member Contributions to the GAO Report
NAHMA extends its sincere appreciation to the members who participated in interviews with GAO and shared their firsthand experiences navigating HUD programs and operational challenges. Your willingness to provide valuable insights and real-world perspectives helped inform GAO's understanding of how changes at HUD are affecting affordable housing operations and the communities we serve. Thank you for your time, engagement, and continued commitment to ensuring that the voices of affordable housing professionals are represented in these important discussions.
We encourage members to review the report and share relevant experiences or operational challenges with NAHMA to help inform our ongoing engagement with HUD and lawmakers.