RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond's public housing agency is shaking up internal leadership roles following findings of "mismanagement," according to the organization's chief executive officer.
“We are about the business of making changes for the betterment, and we are making a lot of leadership changes," Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority's (RRHA) CEO Steven Nesmith said.
Nesmith said he's restructuring the entire affordable housing department from the top down. RRHA's website no longer lists its Senior Vice President of Affordable Housing position which was previously held by Kenyatta Green.
The move came after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cited RRHA with dozens of violations of federal regulations in a 2023 audit.
“There were 44 findings in that department, so when our regulator said there was mismanagement, you know what I do as CEO? I make changes," Nesmith said.
Of significant concern to some city leaders, HUD found the authority was incorrectly calculating residents' rent in accordance with their income, meaning tenants could have been overcharged or undercharged. The audit found errors in 66% of the tenant files reviewed.
HUD also found that RRHA had too many vacant units and issues with managing wait lists.
Nesmith said it was his "responsibility" to act in response to regulators and added an announcement regarding a new affordable housing senior team coming next month.
“I think that a personnel shakeup can sometimes indicate that there’s some thirst for change and an acknowledgment that things haven’t been going well," said Richmond City Councilmember Stephanie Lynch.
RRHA also faced scrutiny from some councilmembers in recent months, including Lynch, who raised concerns about a rise in evictions.
CBS 6 investigated one family's case. A mother and her five children were forced out of Gilpin Court earlier this year due to nonpayment of rent and a lease violation.
The mother alleged and provided documentation showing RRHA raised her rent during eviction proceedings without notice. However, she said she never reported a change in income.
“I couldn’t even explain to you ‘this is why this is what it was and this is why this is what it was’ because there were no explanations," she told CBS 6.
While she and advocates argued that RRHA could have used more diligence to keep her family housed, RRHA maintained the eviction, which was authorized by a judge, was justified.
“We've needed a lot of work in RRHA for a long time, and that's evident. It's evident in what people see and touch and hear and feel in the RRHA communities. Our residents deserve better," Lynch said.
Though Lynch was previously critical of RRHA, she said the agency is fulfilling its commitment to ensure the accuracy of its ledgers, ramp up prevention initiatives in the community, and meet with at-risk families one-on-one.
“There has been a lot of give and take and push and pull between the city and RRHA and the residents to try and get to a place where we are reducing the number of folks that are on that eviction target list," Lynch said.
Nesmith announced an eviction freeze amid requests from councilmembers for a pause and said his team would take the time to review cases and give families more time to catch up on rent.
Lynch said as of last month, there were still about 2,200 tenants who had a debt of $50 or more on their accounts.
The eviction freeze is set to end in September.
“We don't have an ending yet, but I can tell you that the progress that has been made gives us great hope and a lot of optimism that the right steps and the follow-through have happened," Lynch said.
She added the city council is planning to meet with RRHA as a body in the coming weeks to address long-term and sustainable solutions to prevent evictions.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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