Leases for VA land are millions of dollars under market value, Trump administration says

UCLA, the private Brentwood School and a parking company are collectively paying only about $2million annually to lease land with a market value of more than $48 million on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ West Los Angeles campus, the Trump administration concluded in a new report.

The report, filed with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on November 7, indicates a shift in the VA’s opposition to portions of a federal judge’s ruling last year that nullified those leases and ordered about 2,500 units of temporary and permanent housing to be built on the 388-acre campus.

The VA appealed the judgment, but, after holding a hearing in April, the appeals court has yet to issue a ruling. In May, President Trump issued an executive order calling for the VA to provide housing for 6,000 people on the campus, a dramatic escalation of the district court’s order.

In a cover letter to the appeals court, Department of Justice attorney Daniel Winik did not suggest the VA was dropping the appeal, but described the report as an update, “informed by the executive order.”

Trump’s order, though asserting that the VA was leasing property “to a private school, private companies, and the baseball team of the University of California, Los Angeles, sometimes at significantly below-market prices,” did not specifically address whether the leases violated the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 that governs the use of the VA land.

The report, which was also submitted to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Friday morning, said that the VA’s comprehensive review and reassessment have “disclosed that the leases invalidated by the U.S. District Court ... may well fail to comply with the WLA Act by failing to principally benefit Veterans and their families, or, in UCLA’s case, by failing to provide services to veterans as the predominant focus of UCLA’s overall activities on Campus during the lease.”

It detailed preliminary findings “based on highest and best use considerations of the leaseholds and a review of relevant land sale and ground lease data.”

The conclusion was that annual fair market rents would be $30,269,500 for just over 22.06 acres leased by the Brentwood School for its athletic facilities, $12,306,500 for 10.09 acres leased by UCLA for its baseball stadium and $5,888,000 for 3.896 acres leased by SafetyPark Inc. for two parking lots, a total of $48,464,000.

“Yet, as of September 2024, VA received a combined total of $1,719,360.84 in annual rent from the leases,” an amount less than 5% of the estimated market value if prorated for a year. The VA did not respond to a request to clarify if that was for nine months or a full fiscal year.

Brentwood School’s lease required rent of $850,000 annually with a 2.5% increase every three years, the report said. UCLA paid $320,844 over nine months.

Brentwood School was required to provide in-kind services through the use of its facilities and veteran activities, all valued at $918,000 annually. School officials reported they actually provided $1,843,606 in the year ending in September 2024. The Brentwood School issued a statement Monday saying it seeks to ensure its relationship with veterans and the federal government continues to grow to meet the comprehensive needs of veterans. Just since Oct. 1, the school said, it has served more than 3,000 meals to veterans in several programs, taught classes such as computer skills and forklift certification, and provided movie nights and fitness classes.

In addition to monthly rent of $25,000 for the Jackie Robinson Stadium, UCLA said that it provided services through a family resource center and a mental health and addiction center. In both cases, the report said, the VA could not substantiate whether the services were provided or if the valuation was accurate.

UCLA has made no rental payments on the baseball stadium since the district court ruled its lease invalid in September 2024, but it resumed using the facility after the 9th Circuit stayed the district court judgment.

A spokesperson for UCLA issued a statement on Tuesday saying, “Over the years, UCLA has provided millions of dollars in services and benefits to our veterans at no cost. Unfortunately, as a result of the judge’s ruling, UCLA was prohibited from accessing the property for a period of time. We are hopeful that all parties can come to a swift resolution to ensure our veterans, student athletes, and the university at large can realize the full benefits of this long-standing partnership.”

In a new statement issued Friday, UCLA said it would make up the past rent.

“Because of our commitment to Veterans, our desire to keep Jackie Robinson Stadium the home to Bruins baseball, and as an act of good faith in anticipation of discussions over a new lease, UCLA has, as of Nov. 13, voluntarily made past payments to the VA,” said Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications. “We are hopeful that all parties can come to a swift resolution in both the lawsuit and lease negotiations to ensure our Veterans, student athletes, and the university at large can realize the full benefits of this long-standing partnership.”

SafetyPark did not respond requests for comment.

Mark Rosenbaum of the pro bono law firm Public Counsel, who is representing veterans in the class-action case, said he had not yet decided whether to submit any response to the 9th Circuit but seconded the report’s conclusion.

“Even as it understates the case, the report confirms the district court’s decision that our government should be providing housing for all veterans so they can access desperately needed medical services,” Rosenbaum said. “Hopefully, [Tuesday] will be the last Veterans Day when there will be homeless veterans on the meanest streets of Los Angeles.”

After receiving the report, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost (R-Ill.) blasted the VA and the leaseholders, particularly UCLA.

“It is clear that VA has been dramatically underpaid for renting land that could have been used to directly benefit veterans,” Bost said. “Instead of paying market rate in Brentwood, California, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the nation, the University of California at Los Angles has used baseball tickets, tailgates, kayaking and a legal clinic that failed to be open when homeless veterans needed their services most to pay for their baseball stadium on land that belongs to VA.”

Anthony Allman, executive director of Vets Advocacy, a nonprofit group that monitors implementation of a master plan for development of the VA campus ordered under an earlier lawsuit, said the focus on rent could distract from the question of how to obtain the most benefits for veterans.

He asked why leaseholder funds could not be used to pay for construction of housing that had been long planned for the campus but delayed by funding hurdles.

Two maps appended to the report gave the first public airing of an action plan for creating a National Center for Warrior Independence. Trump’s order had called for such a plan within 120 days.

The first map identifies buildings in planning and development to provide 2,000 new beds in a first phase. The second map includes no specific detail but shows use of the Brentwood School and UCLA properties, as well as an L.A. city park, to reach 6,000 beds in phases two and three. No timelines or details on specific buildings were included.

“It’s a paint-by-numbers, not a plan,” Allman said.

The first map, he said, is consistent with the master plan already in place, while the second map is only a concept: “It doesn’t tell you how it’s going to get there.”