PHILADELPHIA—The head of the Philadelphia Housing Authority tendered his resignation Friday, a year and a half after taking over the agency in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal involving his predecessor.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Michael Kelly had given his two-week notice and it would conduct a nationwide search for his replacement.

Kelly took over the authority's top job in December 2010 following the ouster of his predecessor, Carl Greene. Greene was fired amid claims he used about $900,000 in public money to settle several sexual harassment allegations.

PHA's sole board member, HUD's Karen Newton-Cole, credited Kelly with instituting much-needed reforms at the agency, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Director of Audit and Compliance Kelvin Jeremiah was named interim director. Former board member and current HUD adviser Estelle Richman was also named as Newton-Cole's replacement.

"Mr. Kelly came to PHA at a very difficult time and he immediately focused on getting back to basics in property management and resident services and making PHA accountable and transparent in business practices," Richman said.

Greene claimed he was wrongly terminated.

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com