Eviction was avoided by thousands of homeless people who lost their housing vouchers
Thousands of homeless people whose housing subsidies will expire in December are no longer at risk of eviction, local housing officials announced Thursday.
The inclusion of new funds approved by Congress this year and the elimination of eligibility procedures averted a crisis that could have left 4,200 back on the street.
“We are now able to ensure that all participating households will be able to stay in their homes,” said Lourdes Castro Ramirez, president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.
Castro Ramirez and Emilio Salas, executive director of the Los Angeles County Development Authority, said in a joint announcement that the county’s two largest housing authorities now have the funds and administrative authority to convert all expiring emergency vouchers into a permanent government subsidy program, called housing choice vouchers.
The deportation crisis arose when federal officials announced last year that a $5 billion emergency voucher program approved by Congress through 2021 would run out of money at the end of 2026. Rising housing costs across the country depleted the account four years ahead of schedule, prompting housing authorities across the country to warn that as many as 46,000 voucher holders could face eviction this year.
In January, HACLA sent notices to its 2,760 emergency voucher, or EHV, owners and 1,700 homeowners of the impending foreclosure. LACDA has notified its 1,500 EHV owners.
“These homes have been on pins and needles for the past few months because they have been informed that the funding will end at the end of the year,” said Salas.
At that time, LACDA only had enough money to issue housing selection vouchers that were available through demolition. HACLA was in dire straits, facing a funding shortfall that forced it to stop processing 2,000 voucher applications. With additional funds both agencies will have housing selection vouchers to replace all expiring ones.
“At a time when the federal government is gutting our social safety net—Los Angeles County is moving quickly and finding creative ways to keep families afloat,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. “We are already in the midst of a declared state of emergency and every family we can keep from losing their home is a family protected from the trauma and instability of homelessness.”
Housing Choice Vouchers are subsidies provided under the Section 8 program directly to individuals or families. HACLA currently has approximately 53,000 Section 8 vouchers in use of which 29% are allocated to low-income housing projects instead of individuals.
Los Angeles County has citizens who deserve more than vouchers. HACLA currently has a waiting list of 25,000 Castro Ramirez.
The fate of about 1,200 emergency housing vouchers issued by the Los Angeles County micro-housing authority remains unclear.
“They are still there [public housing authorities] who are trying to find out where they will end up,” said Salas. “We think that based on our work with them, about half of them will be able to change their homes. For those who cannot, we are working with them to try to identify other resources to try to find as many homes as possible throughout the region.”
The Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach reports on its website that it does not have enough funds to convert emergency vouchers to permanent ones. HACLB did not respond to an email requesting an update.
The pandemic-era emergency voucher program was part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. It was intended to quickly provide stable housing to people “who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse, stalking, or human trafficking, or who are newly homeless or at high risk of housing instability.”
The Los Angeles County housing authority chose to focus the program on the homeless, Salas said.
“For many of them, the calendar was open,” said Salas. “What would happen to them at the end of the year? For many of them it would probably be a return to homelessness.”
The 2026 housing appropriation passed by Congress this year increased HACLA Section 8 funding by $138 million, Castro Ramirez said. That would allow it to cover the $50 million annual cost of emergency vouchers and continue to process pending applications. LACDA’s new funding will cover its $22 million in emergency voucher costs and provide $40-million in reserves, Salas said.
