LA Reports $636 Million in Homelessness Funds Unspent

A city report found large portions of homelessness money had not been spent or committed as of March 31.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Employment

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a municipal building facade and a stacked bundle of binders on a stone plinth, in deep red, cream, and charcoal. — Los Angeles officials reported $636.1 million in homelessness funding was unspent or uncommitted as of March 31, as Mayor-elect Nithya Raman pledged an audit of the spending system. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Los Angeles has spent more than $1 billion on homelessness programs, but a 23-page report to the City Council showed $636.1 million was unspent or not yet committed as of March 31. Incoming Mayor-elect Nithya Raman has pledged to audit the spending system.

Why it matters

The gap between approved and committed funds raises questions about how quickly the city can respond to a population of 45,194 homeless residents, 29,115 of them living on the streets. Raman has pledged to cut street encampments by at least 50% before the 2028 Olympics, and she will inherit the system she has now called for auditing.

The report shows $368.9 million of the $953.3 million initially approved for fiscal 2025-26 was spent or committed by March 31, leaving $636.1 million unspent or not yet committed. LAHSA had spent or committed $165.5 million of its $243.4 million adjusted allocation, and the Housing Department had recorded $56.4 million against $238.1 million, while the reasons for the remaining balances are not stated in the material reviewed.

The players

Nithya Raman

Raman is the Los Angeles City Council member who chaired the Housing and Homelessness Committee for three years and is set to take office as mayor, having pledged to audit the homelessness spending system.

Karen Bass

Bass is the current mayor of Los Angeles, whose administration oversees the city's homelessness programs and the Inside Safe initiative.

The details

A 23-page report presented to the City Council's Homelessness and Health Committee detailed the spending status of the city's homelessness funding. A motion demanding the comprehensive spending report, co-sponsored by Raman, was continued on Tuesday to the committee's next meeting.

Fiscal year 2025-26: The city initially approved $953.3 million for homelessness programs.
March 31: Only $368.9 million of the funding had been spent or committed.
Tuesday: The report was presented and the motion was continued to the committee's next meeting.
2028: The Olympics, the deadline Raman has set for cutting encampments by at least 50%.

Economics Context

The spending gap follows a pattern of city homelessness budgets being approved faster than they are deployed, a pressure point for the Inside Safe encampment resolution program. Encampment resolution is expected to continue under Raman even if the program's name changes.

For Los Angeles residents, the outcome of the audit will determine whether unspent homelessness dollars are committed to shelter, housing construction and tenant assistance programs. Whether encampments decline before the 2028 Olympics will depend on how quickly those funds move.

The takeaway

Large approved budgets do not translate into services until money is committed, so the pace of spending is as important as the total. Watching the audit and the committee's next meeting will show whether the gap closes.