Free legal services may become a ‘right’ in LA County for tenants facing evictions

More than 50,000 eviction notices set to explode across Los Angeles County this year will lead to a huge increase in the number of people being ousted from their homes, swelling the population of homeless on the streets, according to a coalition of tenant rights groups.

In a stopgap measure aimed at preventing more people from becoming homeless, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 11, unanimously approved a plan to extend free legal representation to qualified tenants who’ve received eviction notices and reside in unincorporated areas.

The board directed the Office of County Counsel, in conjunction with the county’s director of Consumer and Business Affairs, to craft a Right to Counsel (RTC) ordinance that would provide free lawyers, based on income eligibility, to those who are served unlawful detainers in unincorporated L.A. County. The draft ordinance is due back before the board in 10 months.

While having a lawyer doesn’t automatically prevent an eviction, tenants groups and the board agreed that a right to counsel would reduce evictions, promote mediation between landlords and renters, and could keep more people in their homes. Apartment owner trade groups see it as making the problem worse.

This year’s Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count found that unhoused people in the county increased by 9% over 2022, with 3,000 eviction notices each month, said First District Supervisor Hilda Solis. Studies show that 67% of the homeless were struggling with paying rent before they ended up on the street, she said.

“The county needs to protect our residents and tenants in the unincorporated areas,” Solis said. “This is a massive problem for our most vulnerable tenants: Getting legal counsel.”

The board heard from close to 100 speakers, many of whom had been served eviction notices but did not have access to an attorney because they could not afford one. A coalition of tenant rights groups testified that the proposed “Right to Counsel” ordinance would provide a line of defense for low-income people who can’t afford legal representation and are unable to navigate a byzantine court system on their own.

Some tenants said they received notices on a Friday, saying they must leave in five days. Others said they saw corporate owners buy apartment houses and evict tenants to make way for condo projects. Many were in tears as they testified that they don’t have anyone to help them and face living on the streets.

“Right to counsel is about access to justice and about homelessness prevention,” said Barbara Schultz, director of housing and justice for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said studies found that 90% of landlords are represented by attorneys, compared to 10% of tenants. “Having a right to counsel changes the game,” she said.

The board wants the free attorney program available to eligible tenants by fiscal year 2024-2025 or sooner. However, a permanent, Right to Counsel program for distressed renters in unincorporated areas is in search of a funding source.

If and when it is funded and running, the board intends to expand it to the cities in the county, who may be asked to help fund their programs. The City of Los Angeles is pursuing a similar program. Offering it to other cities is not expected until fiscal year 2030-2031, according to the county motion.

The city of Monrovia is using funding from Measure H, a 1/4-cent sales tax initiative raising money throughout the county for homeless services, to keep in their homes about 400 families facing eviction, said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who offered the example of Measure H as a possible funding source.

A county Right to Counsel program would cost about $30 million, according to county officials. The county will need 82 attorneys in the first phase, and 400 attorneys by 2030, Solis estimated. The county moved $5 million in seed money to start the program.

“With an attorney, tenants are much more likely to remain in their homes,” said Jeffrey Webb, an attorney working with Stay Housed LA, a county program that launched in 2020 and provides assistance to low-income tenants facing eviction. The new RTC program would build from the existing effort and become permanent.

While tenants rights groups and legal aid attorneys are working to provide assistance and testified in support of a permanent program, apartment owner groups opposed the measure.

“This is the wrong approach,” said Janet Gagnon, director of government affairs with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), a non-profit association of rental housing providers and residential property management professionals.

Max Sherman, AAGLA’s associate director of government affairs, said access to free lawyers would prolong rental disputes, not solve them. “You should adopt a permanent rental assistance program to help renters pay rent, not lawyers,” he told the board.

Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn added a clause that says the program must also provide mediators to help settle rental disputes out of court. “I’ve heard for tenants that mediation works to resolve the situation,” she said.

The county report said evictions have long tentacles. For families, it disrupts school schedules. And parents who have an eviction on their record have damaged credit scores, making it tougher to rent again.