COUNCIL ESTABLISHES RIGHT TO COUNSEL PROGRAM FOR TENANTS IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2025

Los Angeles, CA – Today, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted a new Right to Counsel Ordinance, establishing a city-wide Right to Counsel program for tenants in the City of Los Angeles facing eviction who are unable to afford legal representation. This is the final step in the process to draft and adopt an ordinance, initiated by a motion brought forward in 2023 by Councilmember Raman and co-presented by Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, Heather Hutt, Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Katy Yaroslavsky. Similar legislation passed in New York City and San Francisco has resulted in significantly reduced eviction filings as well as more people facing eviction staying in their homes. 

In LA County, there were a record 45,000 unlawful detainer filings in 2023 and an average number of almost 4,000 monthly eviction filings in 2024. These recent trends are higher than the County experienced between 2015 to 2020, immediately prior to the pandemic, emphasizing the need for intervention. When tenants are unable to afford a lawyer, they frequently fail to contest an eviction notice, even if it’s unlawfully issued. As a result, many eviction actions end in default judgments against tenants that may have been able to make successful arguments in court, if they only had representation. The newly adopted ordinance establishes the Eviction Defense Program/Stay Housed LA as a permanent phased-in program citywide, codifies services, and ensures that eligible tenants living in the City have the right to access critical legal services.

“Establishing a Right to Counsel program is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. By investing in protecting tenants, we are not only keeping Angelenos housed, we are saving money in costs related to emergency shelter, temporary housing programs, and health care,” said Councilmember Raman. “I am so grateful to my colleagues for pushing this legislation forward and helping move us into an era of stability in the City of Los Angeles, keeping people in their homes and combating the eviction-to-homelessness pipeline that has exacerbated the homeless crisis for years.”

“If someone goes through an eviction without legal assistance, the deck is simply stacked against them,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. “Now, with an expanded eviction defense and a right-to-counsel program, many wrongful evictions will be prevented.”

“Too many tenants in LA have lost their housing simply because they couldn’t afford a lawyer during eviction proceedings,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “Codifying a Right to Counsel for tenants isn’t just leveling the playing field for renters, it’s moving the City of Los Angeles one step closer to ending the eviction to homelessness pipeline.” 

“After New York City passed their right to counsel law, 84% of renters represented by city lawyers were able to remain in their homes,” said Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez. “Smart, preventative policies like this are what we need to stop needless evictions and keep hardworking families from falling into homelessness.”

“The best way to prevent homelessness is to keep people housed in the first place. Yet, too many tenants lose their homes simply because they can’t afford an attorney during eviction proceedings,” said Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky. “By establishing a Right to Counsel for tenants, the City of Los Angeles will start to level the playing field for so many renters in Los Angeles facing eviction and keep more Angelenos housed.” 

“Today we applaud the leadership of City Council today in voting to move forward a Right to Counsel ordinance,” said Pablo Estupiñan, SAJE, Campaign Director, Right to Counsel. “Right to Counsel is about equity in court – no eviction case can ever be fair or just when one side is represented and the other is not. Right to Counsel is about racial, economic, and gender justice. And most importantly, Right to Counsel, enacted in 25 other jurisdictions across the country, has consistently demonstrated a reduction in evictions and homelessness, fewer court filings, and cost savings to cities.”

“The right to counsel for eviction defense is crucial for housing stability in Los Angeles,” said Barbara Schultz, Director of Housing Justice at Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. “Thanks to this ordinance and the Stay Housed LA program, just five years from now, we expect that most Los Angeles tenants will have access to free legal help to enforce their rights and keep their homes.”

The United to House LA (ULA) measure, approved by voters in November 2022, provides a permanent source of funding for LAHD to expand the Eviction Defense Program to provide legal services to all eligible renters facing eviction citywide. The newly adopted Right to Counsel ordinance provides the right to counsel for qualified tenants, a five-year phase in plan to roll out services citywide, and additional LAHD staffing to administer and monitor the program. 

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