HUD suspended the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, cutting off the region's access to up to $241 million in federal homelessness funding

On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the immediate suspension of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead agency for Los Angeles's homelessness response, following the opening of a HUD Office of Inspector General investigation. In a notice to LAHSA's leadership, Secretary Scott Turner cited a "clear pattern of fraud" and "wanton mismanagement," and HUD pointed to a November 2024 Los Angeles County auditor finding of misused funds, LAHSA's failure to document roughly 2,300 housing sites during a 2025 assessment, and the resignation of the agency's former CEO after more than $2 million in federal funds were committed to her husband's employer.

The suspension placed at risk roughly $241 million in Continuum of Care funding for the Los Angeles region — which HUD said had received nearly $1 billion over the prior five years — and barred LAHSA from submitting the region's application for the next round of grants. LAHSA was given 30 days to request a hearing before the suspension could become permanent, and HUD said permanent debarment was "on the table." The Continuum of Care program is a federal grant program that Congress established under the McKinney-Vento Act to fund local homelessness response, with statutory procedures governing how those funds are awarded and withdrawn.

Updates

2026-07-02 — Federal judge stayed the suspension and ordered status-quo funding [2, 3]

LAHSA sued HUD to block the funding cutoff, and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter stayed the suspension, directing the parties to submit a proposed agreement by July 16 to preserve LAHSA's current funding. Carter set a preliminary-injunction hearing for August 6 and indicated he would aim to issue a final ruling by August 26.

2026-08-13 — Judge granted partial preliminary injunction preserving LAHSA's funding [4]

Following the August 6 hearing, Carter granted a partial preliminary injunction blocking HUD's suspension, finding that abruptly cutting the funding would "jeopardize housing and services for more than 11,000 people across the region" and that HUD had been "complicit" in the problems it cited as grounds for the suspension, having had prior knowledge of them. The ruling preserves LAHSA's access to the roughly $241 million in FY2026 Continuum of Care funding at risk since the June 11 suspension, pending further proceedings.