local
Section 8 promises renters they can live where they choose. It mostly fails to deliver.
By Robin Urevich | Capital & Main at LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio)
· July 13, 2026
· 10 min read
An apartment building in Santa Monica .(GarySe7en / via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr)At the Sea Castle apartments, just steps from the beach in Santa Monica, a small one-bedroom with an ocean view starts at $2,900 per month. But some tenants pay only about 30% of their income and use Section ...
Key takeaway (GarySe7en / via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr)At the Sea Castle apartments, just steps from the beach in Santa Monica, a small one-bedroom with an ocean view starts at $2,900 per month.
Why this matters in The Los Angeles
The fact that most Los Angeles County voucher holders are concentrated in low-resource areas raises questions about the effectiveness of the Housing Choice Voucher program in providing true choice. While Santa Monica stands out as an exception, with all its census tracts considered high-resource, this is not the case for the majority of the county. The clustering of voucher holders in areas with high poverty and racial segregation rates suggests that the program is not living up to its promise of allowing participants to live where they choose. This has significant implications for access to quality education, healthcare, and other resources that are often scarce in low-resource areas. As the California Civil Rights Department considers the findings, it will be important to examine the role of housing discrimination and other barriers that may be limiting voucher holders' ability to access more desirable neighborhoods, and to explore solutions that can help create more equitable distribution of affordable housing opportunities across the county.
About this story
Original reporting by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) . The Los Angeles surfaces reporting from trusted publishers and adds local editorial context so readers can quickly understand what a story means for their community. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
For the complete original report, visit LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) . Have a tip or correction? Contact our newsroom .
Category: local ·
Published: July 13, 2026 ·
Source: LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) ·
Reading time: 10 min
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What is this story about? An apartment building in Santa Monica .(GarySe7en / via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr)At the Sea Castle apartments, just steps from the beach in Santa Monica, a small one-bedroom with an ocean view starts at $2,900 per month. But some tenants pay only about 30% of their income and use Section ...
When was this published? This article was first published on July 13, 2026 by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) and curated for The Los Angeles readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Robin Urevich | Capital & Main at LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio). To learn more about how The Los Angeles selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
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