You probably aren’t overly excited when someone comes to perform an audit of your property. It’s anxiety inducing. The Management and Occupancy Review (MOR) is a comprehensive assessment of your entire operations – which can be a pressure cooker type of environment in the days leading up to the site visit, the day of, and while waiting for the final report.
Don’t let the stress of being audited consume you. Try to view an MOR as an opportunity – it’s your time to showcase your hard work and commitment to your resident population. Everything you’ve done in addressing security concerns, making units ready, completing certifications, performing preventative maintenance, etc. is on display.
Let’s dive into the purpose of MORs, what to expect, how you can prepare, and ways DeSilva Housing Group can help you.
The purpose of an MOR
The goal of every MOR is to ascertain if owners are:
- Determining eligibility and calculating subsidy correctly
- Maintaining a property that is decent, safe, and sanitary
- Preventing fraud, waste, and abuse
- Using and implementing policies correctly, consistently, and fairly
- Implementing new HUD regulations timely and accurately
Of special importance are the last two bullets. Does your staff know what your policies are, and are they using them appropriately? Secondly, are they aware of regulatory changes – which are the norm in our industry?
We understand how difficult it can be to carve out time to understand regulatory changes, but before you know it, you’ll have an MOR reviewer in front of you asking about how you’re implementing a new process at your property! Check out our MOR Ready: Sharpen Your Leasing & Occupancy Compliance Before the Review webinar on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, for specific regulatory changes you should be aware of!
What to Expect During an MOR
During an MOR, a reviewer will use HUD Form 9834 to record observations. It’s 47 pages long, but well worth familiarizing yourself with so that you can start to do an internal audit as you prepare.
There are seven categories assessed during an MOR:
- General Appearance and Security
- Follow-up and Monitoring of Project Inspections
- Maintenance and Standard Operating Procedures
- Financial Management/Procurement
- Leasing and Occupancy
- Tenant/Management Relations
- General Management Practices
For tasks not being performed correctly, an MOR “Finding” serves as notification of the error, and will instruct the property on what to do to regain compliance.
Based on the reviewer’s audit of the seven categories, the property will be given an overall rating, ranging anywhere from Superior to Unsatisfactory. Our MOR Mastery: Navigate HUD’s New Final Rule & Ace Your Next Review webinar on Monday, October 6, 2025, covers all that goes into the rating system, the categories assessed, and more!
Preparing for an MOR: How DeSilva Housing Group Can Help You
Remember that there’s not a “gotcha” approach to MORs. Every reviewer captures the review using the same HUD Form 9834, so you can review it in advance and avoid any surprises. It’s like having the test questions before an exam!
If you’ve had an MOR in the past and know what to expect, you may just be lacking the hours in the day to prepare. Let us help! We offer on-demand quality control services that include certification reviews, waiting list management assessments, policy reviews, and more. We can even do a “mock MOR” to look at all aspects of property operations.
We also offer a Sample Checklist of Documents to Have Ready for an MOR available for instant download. Our 2-page list contains leasing and occupancy documents, maintenance documents, tenant management relations, general management practices, and financial documents.
Remember, we also have two upcoming MOR-focused webinars:
- MOR Mastery: Navigate HUD’s New Final Rule & Ace Your Next Review, on Monday, October 6, will detail the mechanics of an MOR, what the reviewer will focus on, and how your score is calculated. We’ll break down each of the four critical stages of the MOR and share practical strategies to boost your results.
- MOR Ready: Sharpen Your Leasing & Occupancy Compliance Before the Review, on Tuesday, October 7, will zero in on the leasing and occupancy procedures that HUD will scrutinize most.
Don’t let the stress of being audited consume you. Remember – it’s an opportunity, and we’re here to help!
