Last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would discontinue federal funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program, which provided communities with 70,000 new tenant-based vouchers to quickly and stably house people experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or fleeing domestic violence or human trafficking. This withdrawal of federal support came amid proposed federal cuts to affordable housing programs more broadly, including a 43 percent cut to all federal rental assistance, and time-limited work requirements for households receiving federal benefits.

California received more EHVs than any other state, and more than 6,000 went to the Los Angeles region alone. Despite local and state-led efforts to address unaffordability in housing and homelessness, communities like Los Angeles will likely face new roadblocks that are potentially costly and destabilizing to the region’s most vulnerable households.

What is the Emergency Housing Voucher program?

Created at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) channeled an influx of federal dollars to states and localities to help stabilize households facing escalating economic hardship and job loss. With the increased risk of housing instability and homelessness, the ARPA legislation also created the EHV program, which awarded housing choice vouchers to local public housing authorities.

A still-growing evidence base shows that EHVs effectively help people get and stay housed. Research has also demonstrated a need for expanded rental assistance beyond the pandemic, as living costs and a scarcity of affordable housing continue to outpace household income. Experts estimate that rents rose by 22 percent between April 2021 and April 2023.

Enacted as a temporary program, EHVs were originally charted to gradually wind down over a decade. But last March, a HUD letter (PDF) to public housing authorities announced the final allocation of EHV funds—forcing communities to prepare for a total depletion of EHV reserves by the end of 2026, only a little over halfway through the intended duration. 

As of January 2026, the EHV program is currently serving more than 50,000 eligible households. The latest spending bill for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) programs, as passed by the House of Representatives, would give some flexibility to PHAs to transition and stabilize households exiting the EHV program through the use of Tenant Protection Vouchers, but it’s unclear whether the Senate will pass it by January 30, after which the current THUD appropriation lapses.

Los Angeles—and many other localities—don’t have enough resources to address homelessness alone

For two years, Los Angeles County has seen steady declines in homelessness, dropping to 72,308 across the county in the latest 2025 Point-in-Time Count. A large driver behind this trend have been meaningful reductions in unsheltered homelessness, which declined by 14 percent between 2023 and 2025.

The premature end of the EHV program—and the federal retreat from rental assistance programs and permanent supportive housing writ large—threatens to undo that progress.

Local initiatives to combat homelessness have played an important part in recent declines in the city and county of Los Angeles. This includes increased public investment through efforts like Measure A, a half-cent sales tax to finance homelessness services and prevention efforts in the county. But local coffers are not robust enough to respond to the scale of need, particularly in states like California, where a shortage of affordable housing has continued to outpace household income. Without the needed funding to bridge the gap in rental assistance, Los Angeles and other communities are facing a sudden shortfall in vouchers that puts thousands of households at risk of housing instability and returns to homelessness.

Voucher holders already face steep barriers to housing, battling discrimination and a sometimes years-long waiting list for a voucher. The proposed funding cuts to rental assistance will only compound these challenges—countering the small but encouraging headway on reducing homelessness that communities like Los Angeles County have made. The 2026 federal funding legislation still faces some uncertainty. As the Senate prepares to vote, it’s more important now than ever to understand how funding cuts could affect the safety and security of EHV households.