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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $38.2 million settlement with the City of Los Angeles to resolve allegations of intentionally failing to meet federal accessibility requirements related to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds for multifamily affordable housing.

Recipients of federal housing development funds must comply with federal accessibility laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act. In 2017, the DOJ filed a complaint in a whistleblower action filed under the False Claims Act alleging that, for over a decade, the City of Los Angeles failed to follow federal accessibility laws when building and rehabilitating affordable multifamily properties and failed to make its affordable multifamily housing program accessible to people with disabilities. The complaint against the city also alleged that the housing was not structurally accessible because of failures like slopes that were too steep, counters that were too high, and thresholds that did not permit wheelchair access.

Furthermore, the city was accused of failing to maintain a publicly available list of accessible units and their accessibility features, and it was also accused of falsely certifying to HUD that it complied with these grant requirements.

“This settlement shows that we will hold accountable jurisdictions receiving federal grant money to ensure they satisfy their obligations to make affordable housing accessible to people with disabilities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Our years spent litigating this case demonstrate the department’s steadfast commitment to this effort.”

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The lawsuit, U.S. ex rel. Ling, et al. v. City of Los Angeles, et al., No. CV11‐00974, was brought by a Los Angeles resident who uses a wheelchair and the Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley, a nonprofit disability rights advocacy group. The private parties’ share of the settlement has not yet been determined.

 

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