Strict income eligibility rules that prevented some unhoused veterans in Los Angeles from obtaining housing are now being rescinded by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday that service-related disability benefits will no longer count against applicants seeking housing help through a federal program designed for veterans. Until now, those benefits were often enough to put unhoused veterans above the income limit for obtaining a housing voucher.
The move comes in the middle of a federal trial happening in Los Angeles. The case was brought by 14 unhoused veterans who allege the federal government has persistently failed to fulfill its duty to provide housing and healthcare to disabled veterans.