LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — AUGUST 19, 2025 — Tenants with federal housing subsidies may now appeal for reimbursement if public housing authorities charged them higher rents based on receiving state benefits to care for a disabled family member. This relief follows a legal win by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Law Office of Autumn Elliott, and Disability Rights California (DRC) against the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) on behalf of a tenant whose rent was unlawfully tripled.
Eva Oceguera is a senior with a Section 8 voucher who receives payments from California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program that partially compensate her for the full-time care she provides for her disabled son. Also known as the Housing Choice Voucher program, Section 8 provides a safety net for lower-income families and seniors throughout the United States, ensuring that their rent is reasonably based on their actual income.
As of January 1, 2024, federal law requires public housing authorities to exclude IHSS payments from calculations of how much rent families in federally subsidized housing can afford to pay. However, in August 2024, HACLA illegally factored in Ms. Oceguera’s IHSS payments and raised her share of the rent by 315%—putting her family at risk of eviction and the loss of their Section 8 voucher.
HACLA argued that HUD permitted delayed compliance with the new federal law, but the court disagreed, ruling that HUD had not undertaken the rulemaking process necessary to change the regulation’s effective date. The court ordered HACLA to exclude IHSS payments from income calculations for families in all its federally subsidized housing programs going forward.
“I brought this case because I had no other option,” said Ms. Oceguera. “My family may be low-income, but our rights should still be respected. If the judge hadn’t ordered the government to follow the rules, they would have let me end up on the street.”
“The law is clear: low-income families should not pay higher rents—or risk losing their homes—just because they care for a family member with a disability at home,” said LAFLA attorney Heeyoung Linda Park. “Ms. Oceguera’s case underscores that public agencies must diligently uphold the regulations that protect our communities—because when they fail, the consequences can be dire.”
The decision confirms that subsidized tenants throughout the country may be eligible to appeal any rent increase based on IHSS income received after January 1, 2024. LAFLA can help eligible clients in the Los Angeles area seek reimbursement or credits if applicable.
Nearly 53,000 households in Los Angeles receive Section 8 vouchers from HACLA, 37% of which include a family member with a disability. Many rely on IHSS income to ensure appropriate care for their family members. A 2024 survey by SEIU 2015 reports that 65% of IHSS workers in Los Angeles County spend at least half their income on housing, and 37% depend on public assistance. SEIU Local 2015 is the largest union in California, representing more than half a million long-term care workers throughout the state.
This ruling has nationwide impact, as housing authorities across the U.S. are subject to the same federal rules preventing delayed compliance. Long Beach has already updated its policy, and litigation is ongoing against the City of Norwalk.
Tenants can apply for legal help from LAFLA online or by calling 1-800-399-4529.
