The agency that has managed Los Angeles' homelessness response for three decades voted Wednesday, Sept. 16, not to compete for its core federal roles.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's governing commission voted unanimously not to apply in a competitive process to keep four federal roles it has held since the 1990s, LAist reported. The decision effectively hands off oversight of roughly $240 million in annual federal homeless assistance funding, the region's annual homeless count, a database tracking who receives services and a system that matches unhoused people to available housing.

Both the city of L.A. and L.A. County are applying to take over those duties, setting up a competition between LAHSA's two founding partners. The county's Department of Homeless Services and Housing is seeking all four roles. The city is applying for at least two, according to LAHSA.

LAHSA said in a statement that competing against its founding partners would fracture regional collaboration during an already complex transition.

The vote follows months of funding cuts, a federal suspension and lawsuits. L.A. County pulled more than $300 million in annual homelessness funding from LAHSA earlier this year, citing management problems. In June, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) suspended LAHSA from conducting federal duties, putting $241 million in anticipated funding in limbo. LAHSA sued, and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter paused the suspension on Aug. 13.

Carter did not spare the agency in his ruling. He wrote that "for decades, LAHSA and HUD have been in a joint partnership in failure," describing a system where the city blamed LAHSA and LAHSA blamed the city.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on Carter's injunction the week of Sept. 8, adding further uncertainty about LAHSA's eligibility to compete.

The L.A. City Council had already signaled it was ready to move on. On Aug. 12, the council unanimously approved a package to examine shifting city-funded homelessness programs away from LAHSA. Councilwoman Traci Park called the agency "the last man standing in a failed enterprise" at that meeting, the Westside Current reported.

Mayor Karen Bass, who stepped down from the LAHSA Commission in early September, called the agency "a completely dysfunctional construct" in a Sept. 6 radio interview on KFI AM 640, according to the L.A. Daily News. Both Bass and mayoral challenger Councilmember Nithya Raman have said the city needs its own independent homeless system.

L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath called LAHSA's exit "a fundamental change" and said officials "will no longer have LAHSA to hide behind," according to LAist. In a separate statement on Sept. 9, Horvath said the county is best positioned to lead, the Los Angeles Times reported.

LAHSA is not disappearing overnight. The agency said it will continue fulfilling federal responsibilities until a new entity takes over, and its agreements with the city run through June 30, 2027. In April, LAHSA issued layoff notices to 284 employees under the WARN Act as part of a restructuring that eliminated 414 positions total.

The nonprofit Better Angels, led by former L.A. mayoral candidate Adam Miller, has also contacted the court seeking to apply for LAHSA's federal roles.

The 2026 homeless count found 45,194 people experiencing homelessness in the city, up 3.4% from the prior year. Unsheltered homelessness rose 7.9% to 29,115 people.

Full applications from entities seeking to replace LAHSA are due Sept. 25. The L.A. Continuum of Care Board, which oversees the region's federal homeless funding process, must submit its evaluation to the federal court by Oct. 13.