Rancho Palos Verdes Gets $54 Million in Federal Grants for Landslide Buyouts of 27 Homes

Rancho Palos Verdes can now move forward with buying out some of the homes hardest hit by the Portuguese Bend landslide. The city said it has been awarded more than $54 million in federal grants to purchase 27 properties, according to a MyNewsLA report on the announcement Wednesday.

The money covers two rounds of the city's Voluntary Property Buyout Program: 22 homes in the first round and five more in the second. Homes were chosen on safety grounds, including red- or yellow-tag status, loss of utility service, and proximity to active movement in the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Area.

The funding has been building for two years. FEMA and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services first selected the city for about $42 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding in October 2024 after landslide movement accelerated, then added about $10.16 million in second-round waitlist funding in February 2026. The total for both rounds now exceeds $54 million.

The terms matter for sellers. Eligible owners can sell at pre-disaster fair market value, with FEMA covering 75% of eligible acquisition, appraisal, title and demolition costs and the remaining 25% deducted from final proceeds at closing, the city said. Once bought, homes will be demolished and the land permanently restricted to open-space use, so it cannot be redeveloped. Because the grants reimburse the city, purchases will proceed in small groups, and buying and demolishing all 27 could take several years.

Demand has far exceeded this first award. The city received 85 applications when the program was announced in fall 2024, and waitlisted applicants keep their priority ranking if a selected owner withdraws. Rancho Palos Verdes has also applied for about $19 million in a third round that could cover roughly eight more homes, but that application remains on a waiting list.

For Peninsula homeowners outside the landslide area, this is not a general buyout - it is a targeted safety program for the most affected properties. For the 27 selected households, it is the first funded path to relocate at a pre-disaster value.

Source: MyNewsLA, Rancho Palos Verdes Awarded $54 Million for Landslide Property Buyouts, Oct. 14, 2026 - https://mynewsla.com/business/2026/10/14/rancho-palos-verdes-awarded-54-million-for-landslide-property-buyouts/

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