Tuesday, 28 July 2026, 1:54
A looming crisis that threatened to evict thousands of formerly homeless people in Los Angeles has been averted. Local housing officials announced Thursday that new federal funds will allow the conversion of all expiring pandemic-era emergency vouchers into permanent Section 8 subsidies, stabilizing tenants who feared a return to the streets.
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) jointly confirmed that about 4,200 emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) will now be converted to housing choice vouchers. Lourdes Castro Ramirez, HACLA's president and CEO, stated, “We are now able to ensure that every household that is participating will be able to stay housed.” The conversion uses funds approved by Congress and a waiver of eligibility procedures. The transition will affect approximately 2,700 households assisted through HACLA and another 1,500 families served by LACDA, according to the agencies. LACDA Executive Director Emilio Salas said agency staff have begun the administrative process needed to complete the transitions by September. LACDA mailed notices to participating households earlier this month, while HACLA began notifying participants this week. Officials said outreach efforts will continue with tenants, landlords and service providers throughout the transition process. Marcie Vega, director of assisted housing programs for HACLA, noted, “This is housing for the long term for these families.” She added that as long as participants still qualify for federal housing aid, they will be able to stay in their current homes without having to complete an onerous amount of paperwork. “The housing authority is doing the administrative work to transition these families over,” Vega said, with the plan to complete the transition by September.
The $5-billion emergency voucher program, approved in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act, was designed to last through 2030. However, rapidly rising housing costs nationwide drained the account four years early. In January, HACLA sent notices to 2,760 EHV holders and 1,700 landlords about the impending cutoff, while LACDA notified its 1,500 holders. Tenants and landlords have been “on pins and needles,” said Emilio Salas, LACDA's executive director. Officials say the crisis could have put thousands of families at risk of homelessness by the start of 2027. More than 4,300 households in the city and county still rely on those vouchers to subsidize their rents, and federal funding was set to dry up at the end of December 2026. Tenant advocates who work with renters on the temporary program say the news will ease a lot of anxiety. “Folks we've been hearing from are in desperate panic,” said Manuel Villagomez, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. “It's a huge relief.”
Los Angeles County has a severe shortage of affordable housing. HACLA currently has about 53,000 Section 8 vouchers in use, with a waiting list of 25,000. The conversion of EHVs to permanent vouchers is a critical step to prevent a surge in homelessness in a region already in a declared emergency. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath emphasized, “Every family we can keep from losing their home is a family spared the trauma and instability of homelessness.” She added, “At a time when the federal government is eviscerating our social safety net—Los Angeles County is moving quickly and finding creative ways to keep families housed.”
While the two largest housing authorities are secured, about 1,200 EHVs issued by smaller public housing authorities in LA County remain uncertain. Salas noted that roughly half of those may transition successfully, but for the rest, alternative resources are being sought. The Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach reports on its website that it does not have sufficient funding to transition emergency vouchers to permanent ones.
Separately, HACLA announced it has exited federal shortfall funding status under the Housing Choice Voucher program, allowing the agency to resume processing approximately 3,000 Section 8 applications that had been paused because of funding limitations. The 2026 housing appropriation adopted by Congress this year boosted HACLA’s Section 8 funding by $138 million, Castro Ramirez said. That will allow it to both cover the $50-million annual cost of the emergency vouchers and resume processing the suspended applications. New funding to LACDA will include its $22-million emergency voucher costs and provide a $40-million reserve, Salas said.
Participants use these vouchers to find apartments on the private rental market, which can be a challenge given how many L.A. landlords are reluctant to accept them. Tenants typically pay about 30% of their income toward their rent, with vouchers covering the rest. The number of renters with incomes low enough to qualify for a voucher is far larger than the amount of vouchers L.A. housing authorities can offer. Cities rarely open their waitlists, and they often pick applicants by lottery for a spot on the list. Once tenants are on the list, they can wait for years before getting a voucher.
The federal funding infusion has temporarily staved off a major eviction crisis in Los Angeles, but the underlying shortage of affordable housing and the precarious funding for smaller agencies highlight ongoing vulnerabilities. Continued advocacy and resource allocation are essential to prevent future displacement.
