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LA’s Section 8 housing vouchers now won’t go as far as they used to
A "For Rent" sign hangs outside an apartment building in northeast Los Angeles.
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David Wagner
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LAist
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Topline:
Starting Friday, the city of Los Angeles’ Housing Authority is cutting voucher payments by 10% for all new Section 8 leases.
Why now? L.A. housing officials said they need to scale back because of Trump administration budget cuts. Section 8 vouchers are funded by the federal government. In an effort to cut back on expenditures, L.A. has already stopped issuing new Section 8 vouchers to the 24,000 people on the city’s waitlist.
What this means for low-income renters: Tenant advocates said the city’s reduced subsidies could mean voucher holders will be effectively segregated into lower-rent neighborhoods. Existing Section 8 leases will not be affected by the new cuts. But if the city’s current Section 8 tenants move, they’ll have to settle for a cheaper place.
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Read more… in LAist’s previous story on the city’s Section 8 cuts, which breaks down the numbers in one L.A. neighborhood.
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