Federal Judge Orders VA to Expand Veteran Housing in LA

Published: September 16, 2024 at 12:53 PM EDT

Updated: April 22, 2026 at 5:58 PM EDT

COMMENT

Model house and keys on top of a document, symbolizing veteran housing expansion in LA.

An ongoing battle between homeless Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has marked a great victory for Vets. A federal judge is ordering the VA to provide housing for Veterans on its West Los Angeles location. This comes after many Veterans got together to sue the VA over its usage of the 388-acre campus and the lack of development after housing units were promised but never built.

VA Court Decision: Expanding Veteran Housing in Los Angeles

Judge David O. Carter has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their pursuit of providing housing for Veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles region. The ruling will provide housing for Veterans in California as 1,800 new, permanent units are being built. This issue has been ongoing since the VA received its sizable location in West Los Angeles as a gift in 1888. No state experiences a higher concentration of Veteran homelessness than California. In fact, many of the plaintiffs who fought for this ruling are homeless themselves. The scrutiny of the lack of use of the VA facility was at the heart of the matter, as many Veterans felt the property remained underutilized. However, while Vets felt the available space wasn’t used to its full potential, the VA disagreed based on previous agreements, such as the use of renting out parts of its property to generate revenue. The revenue generated by the VA from renting is used to provide Veterans with services throughout the property.

Building Homes for Vets

Finding low-income housing for Veterans in California remains an issue as the cost of both owning and renting property continues to rise, ranking second nationally trailing only Hawaii. The VA has been ordered to build 750 temporary units to provide housing for Veterans in the next 12 to 18 months for an immediate solution, along with the 1,800 additional permanent options that will come. Judge Carter pointed to the fact that the lack of housing for Veterans has been a problem the department has been made aware of since 2011 “...by the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General, federal courts, and Veterans…” involving Los Angeles. A previous lawsuit called for the VA to build 1,200 new units for housing Veterans. However, not even 240 of them were built. This fueled the fire for plaintiffs. It is also part of why the ruling is calling for the VA to deliver a plan for housing and supportive amenities to be completed within six years. Los Angeles has a homeless Veteran population totaling over 3,000. There are ongoing projects from the local government, unrelated to the VA, focusing on sheltering more people in need.