LA takes one step closer to funding eviction defense for residents

The city of Los Angeles moved one step closer Wednesday to establishing a right to counsel ordinance, which would codify legal defense for renters facing eviction.

City Council members voted 11-0 to direct the city attorney to revise a draft ordinance for clarity purposes, as well as to better define certain provisions within it. The city attorney will have 30 days to revise the ordinance and bring it back to the council for consideration.

Council members Paul Krekorian and Curren Price recused themselves because they are landlords, while their colleagues Eunisses Hernandez and Imelda Padilla were absent.

Under the proposal, the city would fund eviction defense via the annual budget process or using United to House LA funds. The program would benefit tenants facing legal proceedings and meet the following criteria:

— Lives in the city of LA

— Earns at or below 80% area median income for the L.A. Metropolitan area as determined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department at the time of the tenant’s request for counsel

— Does not live in the same dwelling unit as their landlord

“Legal representation to a tenant who qualifies shall be available to a covered individual who must request legal assistance with 30 days of the initiation of the covered proceeding, as long as the tenant is not in default, or as soon as is practicable after receiving a notice of termination regarding a tenant’s rental housing subsidy,” the draft ordinance reads.

“Legal representation in an unlawful detainer matter shall last until at least such time as the eviction notice or unlawful detainer complaint is withdrawn, the case is dismissed, a judgment in the case is entered or any post-judgment motion has been ruled upon by the trial court,” the document continued.

Additionally, Councilman John Lee amended the proposal with a provision to have landlords provide paperwork to tenants about their rights, as well as information about the program. The documents would be translated in multiple languages.

Jesus Rojas, government affairs coordinator for the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, urged council members to reject the proposal, describing it as “premature.” He also warned the city would be using the “under performing ULA tax” and other scarce resources to fund it.

“Rather than pursuing a program that will put money in the pockets of private attorneys to delay an already long eviction process, it would be far better to use these funds as direct rental assistance to low income renters and avoid evictions entirely,” Rojas said.

He noted that 96% of all evictions are for non-payment of rent. The average rent owed is less than $4,000, which would be far less than paying hours of an attorney’s time at $250 per hour, Rojas added.

In November 2022, L.A. voters passed Measure ULA, also known colloquially as the “mansion tax,” which placed a 4% tax on all properties that sell for more than $5 million and a 5.5% charge on sales above $10 million. It took effect on April 1, 2023, and generated revenue totaling $340 million, according to the L.A. Housing Department.

Some 25 housing advocates also joined Wednesday’s City Council meeting to urge support of a right to counsel ordinance.

Daniel Jimenez, director of community organizing with Inner City Struggle and a member of the Keep LA House Coalition, said a right to counsel helps people stay housed.

“While you’re debating whether or not people should have the right to counsel, you still get to go home and sit in your house and be in your house while other people are at risk of losing their house and others are living on the streets,” Jimenez said. “The right to counsel helps people stay housed by giving them a fair chance at legal representation.”

“When people don’t have legal representation in court, most of the time they either lose their case or they self-evict because they don’t know their rights,” he added.

As of September 8, there were 147,532 eviction warning notices filed in the city of Los Angeles with about 136,436 of them due to non-payment of rent, according to the Housing Department.

Last year, a group of city council members — Raman, Bob Blumenfield, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Heather Hutt, Eunisses Hernandez, and Katy Yaroslavsky —originally proposed establishing a right to counsel program in a bid to expand renter protections.

Cities like San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia have already implemented such an initiative.

In 2017, when New York passed a right to counsel law, about 74% of tenants facing eviction were represented by a lawyer, and 84% of those represented in housing court as a result of the city’s initiative were able to stay in their homes, according to the council members’ motion.

San Francisco enacted right to counsel in 2018, leading to a 10% decline of eviction filings in just one year.

If the city were to implement a right to counsel policy, it would cost $34.6 million annually, a 2019 report by Stout Risius Ross found, and help the city avoid costs of approximately $120.3 million. The council members noted that for every dollar invested in free legal counsel, the city could receive approximately $3.48 in costs avoided or revenue generated — cost savings being realized in cities with a right to counsel in place.