An organization representing public housing authorities is criticizing government efforts to remove high-earning tenants from subsidized housing, saying the problem has been exaggerated in the media, the Washington Post reported.

A recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found more than 25,000 cases of tenants who earned too much to qualify for the taxpayer-funded subsidized housing in which they lived. In one case, a New York City family earning nearly $500,000 a year was living in three-bedroom apartment while paying $1,574 in rent.

HUD used to encourage high-income residents to stay, saying their higher rents help make up for the decline in federal housing subsidies. But the agency reversed course once the report was made public and is now urging housing authorities to evict tenants who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing, according to the Post.

In a letter, the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association blasted HUD for the decision. The group urged the agency to stick with its earlier policy.

"To reverse course on the basis of a deeply flawed (HUD) Inspector General report, a few sensationalized and exaggerated media accounts, and ill-informed commentary from some pundits would be a major policy mistake," said Timothy Kaiser, the association's executive director.

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials also has sounded off against the change in policy, saying it was "antithetical" to HUD's mission.

A HUD spokeswoman told the Post it was reviewing the letter and would respond at a later time. http://wapo.st/1FcgAiw

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