Housing rights organizations in Los Angeles are suing the city’s public housing agency. The suit accuses the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) of denying language assistance to limited-English-speaking clients.
The plaintiffs, including two low-income tenants, say HACLA’s failure to provide language services violates state law and puts their housing status at risk.
“When I received related notices or met with my caseworker, I was not properly provided with interpreting, let alone translated documents,” said Hyun Joo, one of the two tenants involved in the suit. “Even when I went in with an appointment,” she added, speaking in Korean, “if I could not communicate in English at the front desk, there were times when I had to wait indefinitely in the lobby or could not meet my caseworker at all.”
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Law Office of Autumn Elliott, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty filed the lawsuit in May against HACLA and its president, Lourdes Castro Ramírez.
The Korean Resource Center is listed as a co-plaintiff in the suit. The organization says it has been forced to expend resources helping families denied language support by HACLA.
The lawsuit claims HACLA violated California Government Code Section 11135, which prohibits discrimination in programs funded by the state, and the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which bars discrimination specifically in housing and employment.
Heeyoung “Linda” Park is the LAFLA attorney handling the case. She said while HACLA’s website and its own internal policies state that professional interpreting services should be provided, in practice that was often not the case.
Clients, including Joo and her co-plaintiff, Eva Oceguera, who is originally from Mexico, were therefore forced to rely on English-speaking relatives. In Joo’s and Oceguera’s case, that meant their school-age children.
“The practice of telling people to bring minor children or acquaintances as interpreters also violates HACLA’s own policy and language access obligations,” Park said, noting the legal complexities of Housing 8 rules and requirements. “If they are misunderstood, a person could lose housing assistance.”
In response to the lawsuit, HACLA said in a statement that it is “dedicated to doing all we can to meet the needs of our community and uphold our values around inclusivity and accessibility, including language access.” HACLA also said its Board of Commissioners approved a revised language access services policy in June, adding that the policy “reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring access and information for our diverse population.”
ACOM (7/10/26) By Nicole Chang