PASADENA (AP) — A state audit accuses Caltrans of wasting millions of dollars in its management of a series of state-owned homes along the proposed 710 Freeway extension route in Southern California.

The California State Auditor’s report released Thursday says the agency didn’t charge the market rate to tenants renting the 404 homes and spent more money repairing properties than it gained in rent revenue.

The report says mismanagement resulted in Caltrans passing up roughly $22 million in rental income for the properties between July 2007 and December 2011.

It recommends Caltrans prepare a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the state would save money by hiring a private vendor to manage the properties.

The audit was requested by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, in 2011 after reports of inflated repair costs for state-owned homes.

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