Lawsuit Challenges HACLA’s Failure To Provide Language Access To Families Seeking Affordable Housing

For Immediate Release
Contact: Elana Eden, eeden@lafla.org

Advocates turn to state laws to protect tenant rights as federal enforcement lags

LOS ANGELES, CA — Tenants and community advocates have filed a lawsuit against the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), alleging the agency systematically fails to provide legally required language access services to low-income families seeking housing assistance —placing vulnerable tenants at risk of losing their homes simply because they speak limited English.

Filed by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Law Office of Autumn Elliott, and Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP), the lawsuit describes how HACLA routinely denies interpretation and translation services to tenants with limited English proficiency in violation of state civil rights laws and its own policies. Ms. Hyun Joo and Ms. Eva Oceguera are joined in the complaint by the Korean Resource Center, a community organization that has been forced to expend scarce resources to help families denied language services by HACLA.

“Everything that happened to me—being ignored, humiliated, and threatened—could have been avoided if HACLA had simply provided an interpreter,” said Ms. Joo, a Korean-speaking mother who received an Emergency Housing Voucher. “I brought this case because no one should suffer or risk losing their housing because they cannot speak English.”

“It’s a constant battle,” said Ms. Oceguera, a Spanish-speaking grandmother who has participated in the Section 8 program for 20 years. “They have ignored my requests and treated me and my children cruelly for so many years. It makes me feel powerless to stop my family from ending up on the street.”

Ms. Joo and Ms. Oceguera repeatedly informed HACLA of their language needs but continued to receive critical communications only in English. Both women were expected to sign documents they did not understand and received notices warning that they could lose their housing assistance—putting them at imminent risk of homelessness—if they failed to follow instructions they could not read. Both also report being pressured to pull their minor children out of school to interpret meetings involving complex rules, sensitive personal information, and the possible loss of their homes.

The lawsuit further highlights how community organizations are increasingly forced to absorb the failures of public agencies by diverting already limited resources to help residents access basic government services. During a single two-week Section 8 application window, the Korean Resource Center had to help more than 200 Korean-speaking families complete applications because HACLA failed to provide adequate language access.

“Community organizations should not have to act as a substitute for government compliance,” said Isaac Kim, Executive Director of the Korean Resource Center. “Families deserve equal access to housing programs without having to rely on nonprofits, relatives, or their own minor children to interpret life-changing information.”

The lawsuit comes as immigrant and linguistically marginalized communities face escalating barriers to public services nationwide, and as federal enforcement of language access protections continues to weaken. “California’s state civil rights laws are becoming increasingly critical tools to protect tenants from exclusion and discrimination,” said LAFLA attorney Heeyoung “Linda” Park.

More than half of Los Angeles residents speak a language other than English at home, and approximately half of residents with limited English proficiency have incomes low enough to qualify for HACLA housing programs. “Thousands of low-income Angelenos are being shut out of critical housing protections because they cannot access services in their own language,” said civil rights attorney Autumn Elliott.

“Our clients are asking the court to require HACLA to provide meaningful and legally compliant language access services for all program participants and applicants,” said WCLP senior attorney Madeline Howard. “That includes interpretation, translation of critical documents, and accessible communications across HACLA’s housing programs.”

A copy of the complaint is available here. Tenants who believe their language rights may have been violated by HACLA or another housing authority may contact LAFLA at: