Los Angeles backed the county's takeover of two key homelessness systems on Monday, Oct. 26, advancing a deal that would give homeless Angelenos priority for city-funded housing.

The Los Angeles Continuum of Care's general membership voted to award LA County oversight of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the Coordinated Entry System (CES), the Westside Current reported. HMIS tracks homelessness data across the region. CES matches people with housing and shelter.

The vote clears the way for a data-sharing agreement the city and county reached the week before. Under that deal, the county would run both systems while contracting with the city to manage matching for all city-funded housing resources.

"This is an agreement that there would be local preference for city persons experiencing homelessness for city housing," City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo told the City Council on Friday, Oct. 23.

The city funds the vast majority of permanent supportive housing in Los Angeles but has not managed matching for any of those units, according to LAist. LAHSA has handled that role. Under the new arrangement, the city would control who gets placed in the housing it pays for.

The agreement would also give the city access to all data on people experiencing homelessness within city limits, including raw data the city has never had. Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who chairs the council's Homelessness and Health Committee, said the raw data would let the city build its own reports and dashboards to adjust strategies in real time.

The City Council voted 10-0 on Oct. 23 to support the tentative agreement, according to LAist.

How the deal came together

Mayor Karen Bass and several council members had pushed for the city to take over HMIS and CES directly. The council directed attorneys to explore legal challenges to the Continuum of Care's selection process while negotiating with the county.

Independent reviewers scored the county's applications higher. On Oct. 6, the Continuum of Care's 21-member board voted to recommend LA County for all four administrative roles being reassigned from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). The general membership had already selected the county earlier in October for two other roles: the federal funding application and the annual point-in-time homeless count.

City officials shifted course after negotiations produced the data-sharing and housing-matching deal. Kimberly Farnham, director of the Los Angeles Housing Department's Homelessness Oversight Bureau, said at the Oct. 26 meeting that the city's system is "best served by a shared governance model."

Councilman Tim McOsker raised concerns about enforcement and proportional representation in the agreement. He warned against rewarding parts of the county that push homelessness into Los Angeles without providing alternatives.

What's at stake

The reassignment stems from LAHSA's suspension by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in June, which cited alleged failures in financial management and grant oversight. LAHSA sued to overturn the suspension. The responsibilities involve about $239 million in federal funds, according to LAist.

The 2026 homeless count estimated 45,194 people experiencing homelessness within the city, a 3.4% increase from the prior year, according to the Community Sentinel. The city budgeted $953 million for homeless-related spending in 2025–26.

What comes next

The deal is not final. Its terms must be turned into binding agreements approved by both the City Council and the county Board of Supervisors. A federal court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, where U.S. District Judge David O. Carter is expected to review the Continuum of Care's selections and help set the transition timeline away from LAHSA.