LA’s Right to Counsel Ordinance Gets Final Approval

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted a new Right to Counsel Ordinance that creates a city-wide program for those tenants facing eviction and can’t afford legal representation.

The final action in the process to draft and adopt an ordinance was initiated by a motion in 2023 by Councilmember Nithya 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 a dramatic reduction in eviction filings and more people facing eviction staying in their homes.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez noted that after New York City passed their right to counsel law, 84% of renters represented by city lawyers were able to remain in their homes. And Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said that the best way to prevent homelessness is to keep people housed in the first place.

Background

In 2023, LA County saw a record number of unlawful detainer filings (45,000) and the average number of eviction filings in 2024 was nearly 4,000 every month. These recent trends are higher than the County experienced between 2015 to 2020—right before the pandemic—demonstrating the need for action, Councilmembers said.

They explained that when tenants can’t afford an attorney, they will often not contest an eviction notice, even if it’s unlawfully issued. As a consequence, many eviction actions end in default judgments against tenants who may have been able to make successful arguments in court, if they’d representation.

What Does the New Ordinance Do?

The new Right to Counsel Ordinance codifies these services in Article 6 is added to Chapter XVI of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. It establishes the Eviction Defense Program/Stay Housed LA as a permanent phased-in program citywide.

The ordinance also makes certain that eligible tenants living in the City have the right to access critical legal services and states:

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unlawful detainer matter shall last until at least such time as the Eviction Notice or unlawful detainer complaint is withdrawn, the case is dismissed, a judgment in the case is entered, or any post-judgment motion has been ruled upon by the trial court.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 ordinance states that the “rental unit”—

refers to all dwelling units, efficiency dwelling units, guest rooms, and suites, as defined in Section 12.03 of this Code, all housing accommodations as defined in Government Code Section 12927, all duplexes, condominiums and single-family homes in the City of Los Angeles, rented or offered for rent for living, dwelling and/or human habitation purposes, the land and buildings appurtenant thereto, and all housing services, privileges, furnishings, and facilities supplied in connection with the use or occupancy thereof, including garage and parking facilities. This term includes all rental units owned, operated, or managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (“HACLA”). This term shall also include mobile homes, whether rent is paid for the mobile home and the land upon which the mobile home is located, or rent is paid for the land alone. Further, it shall include recreational vehicles, as defined in California Civil Code Section 799.29, if located in a mobile home park or recreational vehicle park, whether rent is paid for the recreational vehicle and the land upon which it is located, or rent is paid for the land alone.

Which Tenants are Included?

An “eligible tenant” is defined as “a Tenant that earns gross income equal to or less than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) as determined by HUD’s income limits for Los Angeles in effect at the time of application.”

The Ordinance explains that “covered tenants” includes any eligible tenant that meets all of the following conditions:

1. The eligible tenant resides in a rental unit located in the City of Los Angeles within a covered geography;
2. The eligible tenant earns at or below 80% of area median income for the LA metro area as determined by HUD’s income limits for Los Angeles current at the time of the tenant’s request for counsel;
3. The eligible tenant doesn’t reside in the same rental unit as their landlord; and
4. The eligible tenant applies on or before the 30^th calendar day after service of a complaint initiating an unlawful detainer (or equivalent) proceeding and is not in default with respect to such proceeding, or the eligible tenant applies on or before the 30th calendar day after receiving a notice of termination concerning the eligible tenant’s rental housing subsidy.

What Are Landlords’ Responsibilities?

The Department is going to prepare and publish an informational notice advising Tenants of the Right to Counsel Program, and at the start of a tenancy, a landlord will be required to provide to tenants with a copy of the RTCP Notice in the tenant’s primary language.

A landlord, housing authority, or responsible agency also shall serve a copy of the RTCP Notice on the Tenant in any of the following situations:

• attached to a copy of any Eviction Notice served on the Tenant;
• attached to any notice of termination of a rental housing subsidy if such notice is served by the landlord, housing authority, or responsible agency; or
• attached to any correspondence served by the landlord, housing authority, or responsible agency on the Tenant concerning an administrative proceeding that may result in the termination of the Tenant’s rental housing subsidy.

In each of these situations, the landlord, housing authority, or responsible agency will be required to provide a copy of the RTCP Notice in the Tenant’s primary language. There are provisions for languages that are not known or when a translation of the RTCP Notice into the Tenant’s primary language is not available from the Department’s website. The landlord must also post and maintain a copy of the RTCP Notice in a conspicuous common area of the residential building where the Tenant resides.

“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.

The United to House LA (ULA) measure was approved by voters in November 2022. It 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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