Los Angeles to pay $38.2M for failing to meet federal accessibility requirements

LOS ANGELES - The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $38.2 million to settle allegations it failed to meet federal accessibility requirements when it used Housing and Urban Development grant funds for multifamily affordable housing, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

The settlement resolves a 2017 whistleblower suit filed by a Los Angeles resident who uses a wheelchair, and by the Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley, a nonprofit disability-rights advocacy group.

The claims resolved are allegations, and there has been no determination of liability, the Justice Department said. A "relator share" -- that portion of a settlement received by a whistleblower -- has not yet been determined, according to the agency.

Mayor Karen Bass' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment -- while the city attorney's office declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Sharon Sandow, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Housing Department, said in a statement to City News Service that the agency "is and remains deeply committed to ensuring accessibility in publicly funded housing for tenants throughout Los Angeles."

The claim alleged that, for over a decade, the city failed to follow federal accessibility laws -- including the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act -- when building and rehabilitating affordable multifamily properties, and failed to make its affordable multifamily housing program accessible to people with disabilities.

For example, the laws require 5% of all units in certain federally assisted multifamily housing be accessible for people with mobility impairments and an additional 2% be accessible for people with visual and auditory impairments, according to the Justice Department.

Recipients of these funds must also maintain a publicly available list of accessible units, detail accessibility features and designate at least one city employee to coordinate accessibility efforts -- which the Justice Department said L.A. did not do.

The federal government further alleged that housing developed with HUD grant funds did not provide adequate accessibility features to address slopes, steep hills, counters that were too high or wheelchair access.

"Municipalities that receive federal grant money for affordable and accessible housing must comply with federal law and honor the rights of people with disabilities," First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally said in a statement.

"The nearly $40 million settlement here demonstrates our commitment to ensuring municipalities receiving federal funds comply with federal law. We will continue to work with the city of Los Angeles to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities," McNally added.

HUD General Counsel Damon Smith said the agency determined that the city fell "far short of its responsibilities" to provide HUD-funded accessible housing. In a statement, he noted that the settlement agreement will provide a "fresh start" for the federal government and city to address L.A.'s "pressing housing needs."

In 2020, the U.S. settled for $3.1 million allegations against another defendant in the lawsuit -- CRA/LA, the successor of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles, a local redevelopment agency that financed and assisted in the development of multifamily affordable housing using tax and federal funds.