INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis city government and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday announced they have taken over the Indianapolis Housing Agency that provides rental aid to more than 20,000 low-income people.

The takeover comes after the city government in December 2022 asked the federal government for help restore public confidence and accountability for the Indianapolis Housing Agency. The agency has faced operational, administrative and financial failures.

The change does not affected the status or standing of renters, and no one will be required to move, the city government and HUD say.

HUD says one of the first things they will do is conduct a forensic audit of the finances of the Housing Agency. Richard J. Monocchio, principal deputy assistant secretary of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing, said the federal agency cannot tell how all of the money at the Indianapolis Housing Authority was spent.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Monocchio detailed some of the reasons why HUD and the city government are taking over the Indianapolis Housing Authority. He said rents were not set properly. Incomes were not assessed properly, so the right amount of rent was not being paid, and the voucher program also had problems.

Atop that, living conditions for more than 20,000 people receiving the agency’s financial aid were not good at all.

“The conditions that people have to live in are not acceptable to their apartment. They’re not acceptable to this administration. The work that needs to be done is difficult, but it’s not impossible,” Monocchio said.

The city government and HUD say the process to fix problems will be long, but people living in Indianapolis Housing Agency facilities should start to see noticeable improvements in the weeks and months to come.