Officials warn cuts to time-limited rental subsidies could put thousands at risk of returning to homelessness

At a Sept. 17 Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting, city and regional homelessness officials reported that sharp funding reductions are forcing reconsideration of the time-limited subsidy (TLS) program that provides two years of rental assistance plus case management. Regina Joy Alcazar of the Los Angeles Housing Department told the committee the program was “one of our most successful programs” but that “the program had $240,000,000 in funding last fiscal year and is now operating with $123,000,000 in the current fiscal year.”

The committee heard that the TLS program — designed to provide 24 months of rental assistance, rent-reasonableness checks and progressive tapering of subsidies — helped thousands move indoors during the pandemic funding surge but now faces a funding cliff. “By the end of our current fiscal year, it is expected that 2,700 TLS subsidies will not continue,” Alcazar said. Committee members and staff said that without other housing options, affected households could fall back into homelessness.

Why this matters: TLS has produced higher rates of exits to permanent housing than other interim interventions, and local officials said the program is…