The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion on March 23 that will allow the Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority and homeless service providers to lease entire buildings from property owners to provide housing for homeless individuals.

The action, based on a motion authored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, 3rd District, will better enable the county to transition people into permanent housing after temporary programs implemented during the pandemic are discontinued.

During the early months of the COVID19 pandemic, thousands of medically-fragile residents experiencing homelessness were prioritized for temporary housing in motels and hotels through the Project Roomkey program. In the coming months, many of the hotels and motels will gradually revert back to serving tourists, LAHSA and nonprofit homeless service providers are working to quickly identify permanent housing for those who will have to leave.

Kuehl’s motion, which was unanimously approved, will increase the number of apartments available, as well as the efficiency with which apartments can be rented. It builds on the success of the LeaseUp program, which has increased the number of property owners leasing apartments through county-funded incentive programs. In the last five months, LeaseUp’s listings have increased by more than 1,200 units. Property owners at 10 buildings, representing 373 apartments, have already expressed interest in leasing entire buildings, Kuehl said. 

“We’ve learned that many L.A. property owners are interested in a ‘double bottom line,’” Kuehl said. “They like receiving rent reliably on the first of the month as well as the other guarantees we offer, such as covering the cost of property management and building repairs. Property owners also appreciate being able to support county efforts to re-house veterans, older residents, families and others as they move from homelessness to housing. Over the last several months, many property owners have made clear they would prefer to rent all of the units in a building in order to reduce the paperwork associated with leasing individual apartments. [This] motion makes it even easier for property owners to do well and to do good.”

For information, visit supervisorkuehl.com.