Housing Policy

A Year After the Wildfires, L.A. Homelessness Spikes

Plus: A new lawsuit challenges New York's rent freeze, a study affirms new supply helps everyone, and the battle between data centers and clouded leopards.

Christian Britschgi | 7.28.2026 12:00 PM

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(Photo: Weston Hancock/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom, Jody Wissing | Dreamstime.com Illustration: Fatima Ruiz)

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week's newsletter includes stories on: 

But first, our lead story on the spike in Los Angeles' homeless population, and what it can tell us about the logic of moving chains. 

A Year After Wildfires Destroy Thousands of Homes, Los Angeles Posts Increase In Homelessness

After two years of declines, the city of Los Angeles is once again reporting that its homeless population is on the rise. 

Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi. Get more of Christian's urban regulation, development, and zoning coverage.

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According to the latest homeless census released by the Los Angeles County Homeless Services and Housing Department (LAHSA), which reports figures for the county as a whole, the city of Los Angeles posted an annual 3.4 percent increase in the homeless population. 

There are a total of 45,194 people living on the streets or in shelters in the city. The countywide figures show a smaller annual increase of 1.2 percent, representing 73,040 people living on the streets or in shelters. 

These figures come from LAHSA's point-in-time count, in which volunteers literally count all the people sleeping outside, in vehicles, or in shelters, during a single night in January. The federal government typically releases a national point-in-time count late in the year. 

The posted increase in the city's numbers comes after two years of steady declines. Mayor Karen Bass heralded those declines as evidence of her administration's effective work to get people off the streets. 

Her statement on the latest increase struck a defensive tone. 

"Our efforts ultimately couldn't keep up with policies and funding cuts at the federal and state levels that pushed more people onto the streets," said Bass, blaming the increase on a lack of county services, cuts in federal funding, and unspecified Trump administration policies increasing the cost of "gas, groceries, and rent." 

L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman, Bass' opponent in the mayoral race, blamed the rising homeless population on the mayor's mismanagement. 

The Trump administration has attempted a number of reforms to federal homeless spending, all generally geared toward shifting funds away from "housing first" programs and jurisdictions that rely on a housing first approach, and toward temporary shelter. 

(The courts have blocked many of the administration's program reforms.)

In June, it suspended federal funding to LAHSA, the county agency, over what it described as "wanton mismanagement of public funds."

Even before that, Los Angeles' own city programs were frequently docked by government watchdogs for inefficient spending and long timelines for the delivery of permanent supportive housing for the homeless. 

The increase in homelessness comes a year after the Los Angeles area experienced a major negative supply shock to its housing supply as a result of the 2025 wildfires. Some 12,900 households were displaced after their homes were either destroyed or........

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