NSPIRE Wire is independent and not affiliated with HUD.
Event / Action Date:Sep 3, 2026
HUD has published an updated national file of physical-inspection results for nearly 26,000 federally connected multifamily properties, giving owners, managers and housing professionals a new opportunity to compare their properties with the broader portfolio.
An NSPIRE Wire analysis of the September 2 file found that 850 properties have a latest published inspection score below 60, the level HUD considers failing.
Another 376 properties have scores between 60 and 70, placing them close enough to the failure line that even a modest decline could materially change their compliance position.
At the same time, most of the portfolio’s latest results are strong. More than 18,000 properties - approximately 71 percent of the properties with usable scores - have a score of 90 or higher.
The figures show both sides of HUD’s multifamily inspection picture: a large majority of properties have high reported scores, while a smaller group remains at or near the level associated with heightened oversight and possible enforcement.
HUD’s workbook contains 25,912 property records. Of those, 25,908 have a usable latest inspection score.
Each record includes:
The property’s HUD REMS identification number
Its three most recently reported inspection scores, when available
The release date associated with each inspection
The property name
City and state
Indicators showing active HUD financing or assistance
HUD describes the file as a list of the most recent physical-inspection results for HUD-related multifamily projects.
The database covers multifamily properties only. It is not a list of public housing inspection results, and it should not be used to draw conclusions about the entire HUD-assisted housing inventory.
It also contains inspection results released across multiple years. Although HUD refreshed the file on September 2, the most recent inspection release date appearing in the workbook is July 14, 2026.
Approximately 29 percent of the latest inspection results were released in 2026. About 67 percent were released in 2025 or 2026, while 90 percent were released in 2024 or later.
That difference matters. The September 2 date identifies when HUD updated the published file; it does not mean every property was inspected - or that every score was issued - on or near September 2.
Of the 25,908 properties with usable current scores:
850 scored below 60
376 scored between 60 and 70
1,093 scored between 71 and 79
5,275 scored between 80 and 89
18,314 scored between 90 and 100
Taken together, approximately 91 percent of the properties have a latest score of 80 or higher.
Properties scoring below 60 represent approximately 3.3 percent of the score-bearing records. Properties between 60 and 70 account for another 1.5 percent.
The national average across the published latest scores is approximately 90.4, while the median is 93.
Those figures should not be treated as a prediction of how a particular property will perform on its next inspection. A property’s score depends on its conditions, sampled units, identified deficiencies, scoring rules and the inspection standard in effect at the time.
The largest numbers of properties with a latest score below 60 appear in states that also have substantial multifamily inventories.
Ohio has 50 properties below 60 in the published file. Texas has 49, and North Carolina has 48.
They are followed by:
Maryland, with 41
Georgia, with 39
New York, with 34
Pennsylvania, with 34
Florida, with 32
California, with 31
Missouri, with 30
These are raw property counts, not failure rates. A state with a larger HUD multifamily portfolio has more opportunities to appear in either the high- or low-scoring groups.
California, for example, has nearly 2,000 properties in the file - more than any other state and approximately 77 percent of its properties have a latest score of 90 or higher.
State comparisons should therefore consider both the number of lower-scoring properties and the size of the state’s overall portfolio.
Among states and jurisdictions with at least 25 properties in the file, Puerto Rico has the highest average latest score at approximately 94.1.
New Hampshire follows at 93.5, with Hawaii at 92.9, Massachusetts at 92.6 and Michigan at 92.3.
At the other end of the range, the District of Columbia has an average of approximately 84.7. New Mexico averages 85.5, Oregon 86.0, Alaska 86.2 and Maryland 86.9.
These figures provide a broad benchmark, but they are not a state performance ranking.
The properties were not all inspected during the same period, and the file contains results produced under different inspection dates and potentially different inspection regimes. Portfolio age, building type, financing structure and the timing of inspections can also affect state-level comparisons.
The numbers are most useful as a screening tool: they show where concentrations of low scores appear and where closer property-level reporting may be warranted.
Owners should be especially careful with properties scoring between 60 and 70.
A score in that range is technically above HUD’s failure threshold, but it leaves little room for additional deductions. It can also coexist with serious individual deficiencies that require correction even though the property passed overall.
That concern grew as October 1 approached.
Beginning October 1, 2026, HUD applies score deductions for six NSPIRE affirmative habitability requirements that were previously inspected but temporarily excluded from scoring.
The affected areas include:
Fire-labeled doors
GFCI and AFCI electrical protection
Guardrails
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
Interior lighting
Minimum electrical and lighting requirements
A property that previously remained above 60 could fall below the line if newly scored defects create additional deductions.
Properties already between 60 and 70 should not wait for the next inspection notice to determine whether these conditions exist.
The public workbook is useful, but the overall score is only the starting point.
Owners and managers should compare the published result with the original inspection report, unit-level deductions, cited health and safety conditions, completed repairs and any unresolved corrective actions.
They should also confirm that HUD’s public record reflects the inspection they understand to be the property’s latest result.
When reviewing a portfolio, properties should be prioritized in the following order:
Scores below 60
Scores between 60 and 70
Properties with substantial unit deductions
Properties approaching inspection with unresolved affirmative requirements
Properties whose latest public score is several years old
A high historical score should not replace a current physical review. Conditions change, residents report new problems, building systems age and NSPIRE places significant weight on what inspectors find inside sampled units.
The September file offers one of the clearest public views of HUD’s multifamily physical-inspection inventory.
It can identify the latest reported score for an individual property, show concentrations of low scores and help owners compare their portfolios with national or state results.
It cannot explain why a property received its score. It does not provide the complete deficiency-level detail needed to evaluate repairs, resident risks or the likelihood of a future failure.
It also should not be read as a single-period national inspection report. The records span multiple years, and a refreshed publication date is different from a new inspection date.
Used carefully, however, the file gives owners and managers a practical warning list.
The 850 properties below 60 require immediate attention. The 376 between 60 and 70 deserve nearly as much scrutiny. And every property should understand how the additional affirmative requirements, scored since October 1, could affect its next score.
Methodology: NSPIRE Wire analyzed the latest-score column in HUD’s September 2, 2026, Multifamily Physical Inspection Scores workbook. Four records without usable latest scores were excluded. Percentages were rounded. State averages include all properties with usable scores and should not be interpreted as controlled comparisons of housing quality.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Physical Inspection Scores by State,” updated September 2, 2026.
1. Search HUD's workbook for every property in your portfolio and confirm the listed score and release date match your latest inspection report.
2. Review properties scoring below 60 first, then those between 60 and 70. Look at unit level deductions and open health and safety deficiencies, not only the overall score.
3. Check fire-labeled doors, GFCI and AFCI protection, guardrails, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, interior lighting and minimum electrical and lighting conditions now. These are scored as of October 1.
4. Confirm required repairs and certifications are complete and documented.
5. Look into any property whose latest public result is several years old.
6. Contact your HUD Multifamily field office if the public record looks wrong.
HUD's updated file lists 850 multifamily properties with a latest inspection score below 60 and another 376 between 60 and 70. Owners can use it to check HUD's public record for their properties. Six additional NSPIRE requirements began affecting inspection scores on October 1, so properties near the line should confirm those conditions now.
HUD-assisted and HUD-financed multifamily owners, management agents, property managers, maintenance teams, residents, lenders, investors, compliance professionals, HUD account executives and state housing stakeholders.
HUD’s September 2 multifamily inspection file lists 850 properties with latest scores below 60 and another 376 between 60 and 70. Although approximately 71 percent of properties scored 90 or higher, the lower-scoring group faces added pressure as six NSPIRE affirmative requirements have been scored since October 1.
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