Topline:
Most renters facing eviction in L.A. go to court without legal representation, facing landlords who almost always have a lawyer.
Why that matters: Tenant advocates say problems in eviction court, some of which are highlighted in a new LAist investigation, show why it’s important for renters to have an attorney.
Keep reading... to find out how you can start looking for a lawyer if you’re facing eviction in L.A.
Unlike criminal court — where defendants get a free public defender if they can’t afford their own attorney — most eviction courts, including in Los Angeles, do not provide tenants with free legal representation. As a result, most renters fighting eviction go to court without a lawyer, facing landlords who almost always have an attorney.
Tenant advocates say this can create an unfair imbalance — making it easier for work by eviction attorneys to go unchecked in a busy court system.
In one recent case, a judge caught a big problem. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Ian Fusselman sanctioned one of the most prolific L.A. eviction law firms — Dennis P. Block and Associates — for submitting fake case law in court. Legal experts told LAist the filing was likely created by misuse of a generative artificial intelligence program such as ChatGPT.
In that particular case the tenant, who prevailed, was represented by an attorney.
Tenant advocates say this case, and other complaints about mishandled evictions, underscore the importance of renters having an attorney. Lawyers can spot problems with a landlord’s case, and they can help tenants navigate an often confusing and fast-paced legal system.
“When tenants are not represented in eviction court, they're significantly more likely to lose,” said Jonathan Jager, a staff attorney with the pro bono law firm Public Counsel.
Landlords file thousands of evictions across L.A. County each month. There are not enough tenant defense attorneys to help every renter. But free attorneys are available in many cases. If you’re a renter facing eviction in L.A., here’s how to start looking for legal help.
Your first stop, according to tenant advocates interviewed for this story, should be StayHousedLA.org.
This program, launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and funded by the city and county of L.A., brings together an array of local legal aid nonprofits and tenant advocacy groups focused on helping renters learn their rights and fight to stay in their homes.
“A tenant doesn't need to call eight different nonprofit law firms to try to find one that has capacity for their case,” Jager said. “They can just call StayHousedLA.”
Jager emphasized the need to act fast. Under California law, renters served with an unlawful detainer (the legal term for an eviction lawsuit) have a short time to respond in court.
Evictions are “specially exempt from normal court rules,” Jager said. “If a landlord files an eviction case, the tenant only has five days to file an answer instead of the usual 30.”
StayHousedLA has $20.5 million in funding for legal services, and about 50 full-time attorneys available through different organizations. It has certain eligibility requirements for Angelenos seeking legal representation. Tenants need to earn 80% of the area’s median income or less, which is up to $70,650 for a one-person household or $100,900 for a family of four.
StayHousedLA also prioritizes cases in certain ZIP codes. If you live in any of the ZIP codes listed in this link, you’re more likely to receive free legal representation. Living outside those ZIP codes isn’t necessarily disqualifying. But tenant attorneys said StayHousedLA has chosen to channel limited resources into areas deemed most vulnerable.
“Everyone who signs up should be getting some sort of communication back from the legal services provider they are paired with, even if it is to say, ‘We do not have capacity to take this case on,’” said Amy Tannenbaum, another Public Counsel attorney. “They might be able to provide a vetted list of referrals to private attorneys who may be able to assist.”
L.A. tenants can turn to another potential source for free legal representation: the Shriver Housing Project’s eviction assistance center on the first floor of Downtown L.A.’s Stanley Mosk courthouse. Tannenbaum recommends showing up early to maximize your chances of getting legal help.
The reality, tenant advocates say, is that even if you reach out to these programs, you most likely will not receive a free lawyer. There are simply too many cases and too few attorneys.
“We're working on building that pipeline now for eviction defense,” Tannenbaum said. “It's not there yet.”
But that doesn’t mean you’re completely on your own.
Pablo Estupiñan, director of the Right to Counsel campaign for L.A. tenant rights nonprofit Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, encouraged renters to contact tenant advocacy organizations to learn how to defend themselves in court.
“There can be shame when people are facing eviction,” Estupiñan said. “You're not alone. There are thousands of people right now — across the city, across the county — that are being evicted, or are in court, with no access to legal representation.”
The Eviction Defense Network has videos on their website breaking down the eviction process for tenants who lack attorneys. They also host webinars and classes most days of the week where staffers and other tenants educate each other on how to best approach cases.
Attorneys also recommended reaching out to the L.A. Tenants Union. They said the union includes many members who, while they’re not lawyers, are knowledgeable about eviction.
“I've seen tenants represent themselves in court and win because they have the support of a tenant support organization,” Jager said.
He said tenants can also use TenantPowerToolkit.org to help with filing a response to an eviction lawsuit.
While these policies are unlikely to take effect any time soon, tenants in many parts of L.A. County may one day be given publicly funded attorneys in eviction court.
These “right to counsel” proposals are now under consideration by the L.A. city council and L.A. County’s Board of Supervisors. How exactly the programs would work is not yet clear, but advocates hope L.A. will follow in the footsteps of other cities with right to counsel programs, such as New York and San Francisco.
“Across the country, I think policymakers are seeing that right to counsel is a solution to reducing homelessness and preventing more evictions,” Estupiñan said.
L.A. city council members are waiting for the city’s housing department to deliver a report on the policy before taking an initial vote. That report was due six months ago. The County Board of Supervisors proposal, which would initially only cover tenants in unincorporated parts of L.A. County, is scheduled to be voted on next year.
If you’re hoping to track these right to counsel proposals, read LAist’s guide on how to watchdog your local government.
Topline:
Orcas — the lovable black and white marine predators — have taken over 10,000 square feet of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County.
“Orcas: Our Shared Future” — which opened this past Sunday — includes floor to ceiling screens that play orcas swimming in the wild and life-size replicas of an orca family.
The details: There are 140 original artifacts and specimens to see and experience at the immersive show, including sculptures and masks by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Details: You can check out Orcas: Our Shared Future through April 25, 2027, at the Natural History Museum of L.A. County.
Orcas, the lovable black and white marine predators, have taken over 10,000 square feet of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County.
Orcas: Our Shared Future, which opened Sunday, includes floor to ceiling screens that play orcas swimming in the wild and a life-size replica of Ruffles.
He was one of the first orcas Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, saw in the wild back in the 80s.
“It’s not him but it represents him. And I can actually go back in time and replay: I was standing here and my boyfriend who became my husband was standing next to me... seeing them under us foraging for fish,” she said.
Schulman-Janiger, who is also a research associate for the museum, said there was a sighting of these giants – the largest members of the dolphin family – in our local waters just this month.
“In the Channel Islands,” she said. “I just looked at some photos today sent to me by one of the naturalists... and she saw at least 16 different orcas.”
There are 140 original artifacts and specimens to see and experience at the immersive show, including sculptures and masks by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Fred DeNisco, an orca expert from British Columbia who goes by ‘The Orca Man’ on social media, said he fell in love with orcas at the age of three, while watching 1993’s Free Willy in the back of a mini-van.
He’s followed the exhibition all over the U.S. and Canada.
“It is just so unique in the breadth of topics that it covers, both in indigenous relationships with orcas, the research and more particularly our human relationship and the tumultuous relationship that has in media and captivity and even whale watching,” DeNisco told LAist.
And in case you’re wondering, the exhibition does include an original clamshell for a VHS copy of Free Willy, the film that inspired a generation of orca-lovers like DeNisco.
You can check out Orcas: Our Shared Future through April 25, 2027.
Ticket info is at the Natural History Museum website.
LAist is one of the Natural History Museum’s media partners for the exhibition, Orcas: Our Shared Future.
In this edition:
Old Woman Naked at the Broadwater, a glowworm night hike in Altadena, a punk art show and more of the best things to do this week.
Highlights:
I’ve loved reading your reactions to the new LACMA David Geffen Galleries. Here are just a few of the many responses we received; most were positive, but there were some smart criticisms as well:
“The architecture by Peter Zumthor and the uniquely designed way of displaying the collection across time and place was brilliant! The joy is in finding the connections.” —Marlan
“Time and place braid together in a continuum unleashed from the strictly defined spaces typical of an encyclopedic museum. Truly radical in the best way possible.” —Bianca
“The art seemed to be presented in an almost random order, as if they took LACMA's collection like a deck of cards, shuffled them twice, and then just hung everything in the resulting order.” —Steve
Licorice Pizza has your music picks for the week, including post-hardcore band La Dispute at the Belasco, indie-folk star Cut Worms at Pacific Electric and rock en español sensation Julieta Venegas at the Grammy Museum — all on Tuesday. Wednesday, Charlie Puth is at the Forum, dream-pop trio Sunday (1994) is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, singer-songwriter and breakout The Voice contestant Carol Ades plays the Troubadour and Latin rock band Zoé plays the first of two nights at the YouTube Theater. Thursday, Chet Faker plays the Novo, Maro is at the Fonda, King Tuff plays Sid The Cat Auditorium and a cappella legends Take 6 begin their four-night residency at the Blue Note.
Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a first look at the new Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, find out more about this King Taco’s historic designation, and grab your tickets for Wild Card with NPR’s Rachel Martin Live at the Crawford on May 2.
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29
Elysian Theater
1944 Riverside Drive, Elysian Valley
COST: $25; MORE INFO
A more up-my-alley musical has never before landed in my Instagram feed. Do you, like me, enjoy modern art and showtunes more than almost anything else? Enormous Things — a musical about Claes Oldenburg where Jeff Koons is the villain — might also be for you.
Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Laemmle NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
COST: $14.50; MORE INFO
Fans of Pitch Perfect will want to check out this local real-life story. Just Sing follows the USC a cappella group SoCal VoCals as they make their way to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in New York City. Co-directors and cinematographers Angelique Molina and Abraham Troen will host a Q&A following the screening.
Monday, April 27, 7:10 p.m.
Dodger Stadium
1000 Vin Scully Ave., Elysian Park
COST: FROM $70; MORE INFO
Japanese superstar Yoshiki will perform at the Dodgers vs. Marlins game ahead of his headliner performance at Disney Hall in July, marking Japanese Heritage Night at the stadium. Get there early to hear the music, enjoy Japanese food specials and grab your special game jersey.
Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, 7:30 p.m.
The Broadwater Second Stage
6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood
COST: $45; MORE INFO
Acclaimed author Pamela Redmond is no stranger to using her own life for inspiration for her beloved fiction, like Younger (which later became the hit Freeform show) and Older. But baring all — emotionally and physically — onstage? That’s new territory for the 72-year-old. First performed in New York to a sold-out one-night-only crowd, Old Woman Naked digs into the truth about aging, sexuality, feminism, motherhood and coming into your own. An additional date of May 17 has just been added.
Tuesday, April 28, 8:30 p.m.
UCB Franklin
5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood
COST: $20; MORE INFO
Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman and many more bold-faced comedy names join this showcase at UCB Franklin, hosted by Nate Odenkirk and Ari Mostow.
Monday, April 27, 9 a.m. until sold out
Petitgrain Boulangerie
1209 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
Double chin? More like double yum. Get in line early for this pop-up at Petitgrain, featuring Leah Chin-Katz’s popular pastries and jams.
Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Gabrielino Trail, Western Trailhead
915 Ventura Street, Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Rattlesnakes sleep at night (right?), so head out for a late-night hike to see the rare California pink glowworms that come out this time of year in the Altadena foothills. Intrepid hiker Jason Wise (Journeyman) leads this nature-filled evening with L.A. Rises.
Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Brain Dead Studios
611 N. Fairfax Ave., Melrose
COST: $18; MORE INFO
Through Saturday, May 30
Beyond the Streets
434 N. La Brea Ave., Mid-City
COST: FREE, MORE INFO
Punk in Los Angeles is far from dead. Dead City Punx, whose shows have shut down streets and seen fans start fires, are the focus of a new documentary and gallery show at Beyond the Streets. Dead City Punx (trailer here) tells the story of the band that built a following through “chaotic, illegal outdoor shows during the pandemic — complete with bonfires, fireworks, graffiti and clashes with law enforcement — ultimately sparking a movement that challenged what DIY and punk culture mean today.” Produced by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, the film and gallery show are out now.
In 2024, L.A. County voters approved Measure A, a half-percent sales tax increase aimed at raising $1 billion a year for homeless services and affordable housing. Its backers promised voters more transparency, accountability and results.
So where do things stand now?
The backstory: Homeless service providers and advocates wrote and campaigned for Measure A in 2024. Their goal was for it to replace a smaller, temporary county sales tax for homeless services known as Measure H, which was set to expire in 2027.
The funding helped move more people into shelter beds, and the number of unhoused people in shelters increased from about 15,000 in L.A. County in 2017 to about 23,000 in 2024, according to official estimates.
But L.A. County’s overall unhoused population — which includes people staying in shelters as well as those living on the streets — grew by 37%, from about 55,000 in 2017 to more than 75,000 in 2024.
Go deeper ... to learn more about Measure A and its effect on future homeless services planning.
Los Angeles County is home to the largest homeless population in the U.S. — more than 72,000 people, according to official estimates.
In 2024, county voters approved Measure A, a half-percent sales tax increase aimed at raising $1 billion a year for homeless services and affordable housing.
Its backers promised voters more transparency, accountability and results.
As new revenue flows in, questions about how L.A. County spends homelessness dollars aren’t going away.
Homeless service providers and advocates wrote and campaigned for Measure A in 2024. Their goal was for it to replace a smaller, temporary county sales tax for homeless services known as Measure H, which was set to expire in 2027.
That quarter-percent sales tax, approved by voters in 2017, delivered about $500 million a year.
That new funding helped move more people into shelter beds, and the number of unhoused people in shelters in L.A. County increased from about 15,000 in 2017 to about 23,000 in 2024, according to official estimates.
But the county's overall unhoused population — which includes people staying in shelters as well as those living on the streets —- grew by 37%, from about 55,000 in 2017 to more than 75,000 in 2024.
Measure A’s solution was to double the special sales tax for homelessness, make it permanent and use the extra revenue to help build more affordable housing in addition to homeless services.
A majority of county voters agreed. The county enacted the “Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance” — and then started collecting the Measure A tax in April 2025.
Voters approved Measure A amid increasing concerns about the regional agency long tasked with managing public homelessness dollars by the county and city of L.A.
A county audit in late 2024 found that the Los Angeles Regional Homelessness Authority, or LAHSA, had regularly paid service providers late and failed to properly monitor contracts. A separate court-ordered report found L.A. city officials had made it impossible to accurately track homelessness spending, largely by outsourcing to LAHSA.
Measure A proposed a new approach to the region’s homeless services system, which many have described as “dysfunctional.” Written into the ordinance were clearer systemwide goals, increased accountability over spending and consequences for programs that fail to perform.
Unlike Measure H, which focused on getting people off the street, Measure A was written to also focus on preventing people from falling into homelessness. It directs more than 35% of its roughly $1 billion in yearly revenue to a new county affordable housing agency. Supporters estimated it could produce 18,000 new affordable units in L.A. County over 10 years.
It directs 60% or revenues towards homeless services — and dedicates a portion of that funding to be split directly among L.A. County’s 88 cities.
Measure A delegated oversight responsibilities for the spending to the county Board of Supervisors and two governance bodies the board had established in 2023 to coordinate regional planning on homelessness.
The first is an advisory group called the Leadership Table for Regional Homelessness Alignment. It includes nonprofit service providers and experts who meet regularly and inform policy decisions.
That group advises a more powerful one called the Executive Committee for Regional Homelessness Alignment, which sets Measure A’s goals and makes plans and funding recommendations.
Its nine members include two county supervisors (currently Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath), the L.A. mayor (currently Karen Bass), an L.A. City Council member (currently Nithya Raman), a representative from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and four officials from cities across the county.
The committee’s recommendations go to the county Board of Supervisors, which has the final say.
Last March, the supervisors formally adopted five-year Measure A goals with 2030 deadlines. They include: reducing unsheltered homelessness in the county by 30%, moving twice as many people annually into permanent housing and boosting affordable housing production by about 50%.
One of the early after effects of passing Measure A has been a reorganization of who controls the growing pot of county homelessness dollars.
In April 2025, the Board of Supervisors voted to divert more than $300 million from LAHSA and create a new county department, the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, to manage homelessness funding directly.
Supporters of the move said it was necessary because Measure A voters were demanding accountability that LAHSA wasn’t delivering. The new county department formally launched in January.
The full transition of LAHSA programs to the county is planned in July. The Board of Supervisors recently directed the new department to create strict oversight procedures for all homeless service contracts.
Last March, L.A. County approved its first annual budget that included projected allocations from Measure A, totaling about $1 billion. The county had twice as much funding at its disposal but still cut tens of millions of dollars in programs and services for unhoused people, citing a strategic shift.
Now, the county is finalizing the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. It again includes $1 billion for homeless services and affordable housing because of Measure A, but the homelessness spending plan includes nearly $200 million in program reductions.
County officials said those reductions were necessary to cover rising shelter costs and the loss of pandemic-era state and federal funding.
Measure A has allocated about $100 million annually, or roughly 9% of all Measure A revenues, directly to the 88 cities within L.A. County to address homelessness in what’s known as the Local Solutions Fund. The county publishes a regional plan showing how that money is used.
The funding is awarded based primarily on a city’s recent unhoused population numbers, using estimates from the official annual homeless count.
Some city leaders complain that their residents are paying way more into the Measure A tax than they are getting out of it.
Torrance mayor George Chen says his city will generate about $26 million annually for the county through the Measure A sales tax, and it will receive about $559,000 in local funding through the measure.
The major structural difference between Measure A and its predecessor is that it earmarks roughly 36% of its proceeds — about $363 million a year — for affordable housing development. Those funds flow through a new independent regional agency called the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, or LACAHSA.
The agency’s mandate is to create new affordable homes, preserve lower-rent housing and prevent displacement. It is still in its early stages.
As of March, the agency had received $275 million from Measure A and distributed $25 million to recipients, according to its Measure A Funds Tracker. Most of what had been awarded was emergency rental assistance.
On April 15, the agency’s board conditionally approved its first major round of housing production funding, approximately $102 million for 10 projects that will add 566 units of affordable housing, according to a recent report.
Projects are required to break ground within one year of receiving awards. A second round of awards is scheduled for the board's May 13 meeting.
Demand for funding far outpaced what was available: LACAHSA received 242 applications for 127 projects totaling $1.56 billion and representing 11,484 units.
The goals Measure A set are ambitious, and the deadline is 2030. A county dashboard tracking progress shows the region gaining ground reducing unsheltered homelessness while falling behind on other targets.
The county hasn’t made any progress decreasing the number of people falling into homelessness or decreasing homelessness among people with mental health or substance use disorders. The dashboard does not yet include affordable housing production metrics.
The transition from the regional Homeless Services Authority to the new county Department of Homeless Services and Housing is still underway, with a full handoff of staff and programs targeted for July 2026.
LAHSA recently announced it will lay off 284 employees at the end of June.
Federal cuts and changes to funding from Medicaid and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development — flagged as “threats to recent progress” in the county's recent budget documents — loom over the entire system.
Topline:
According to new data from TikTok and theater trade group Cinema United fan-made TikToks can now do what big marketing campaigns couldn't always achieve: keep a movie thriving after opening weekend.
Why it matters: TikTokers post enthusiastic movie reviews, they cosplay and reenact scenes, and some create new edits from the official trailers and footage. For instance, 24-year-old college student Josiah Pilet remixed Spider-Man clips set to music.
Read on ... for more on why Hollywood is embracing social media influencers.
According to new data from TikTok and theater trade group Cinema United fan-made TikToks can now do what big marketing campaigns couldn't always achieve: keep a movie thriving after opening weekend.
At this year's CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners, director Denis Villeneuve showed the first seven minutes of his third Dune film. He told the crowd he made his latest installment of the science fiction saga for the fans. And long before the December opening, fans have been posting their own reactions on TikTok.
"There's this incredible chant in Dune 3 that's in the trailer and what we've seen is it's a soundbite that users on TikTok have embraced and made their own content with," says Cameron Curtis, executive vice president of global digital marketing for Warner Bros.
He says TikTok is a tremendous platform for reaching new audiences.
"We often see that the creator content on [the] platform outperforms our traditional advertising content by 3-to-1. It's become just critical to our strategy and everything that we do," says Curtis.
He says Warner Bros. and other studios have been partnering with TikTok creators to market their films. According to TikTok executives, that's for good reason. "We really saw that the buzz doesn't stop with the opening weekend," says Dennis Papirowski, TikTok's global head of Entertainment and News.
He says every day, the platform's users create 6.5 million posts related to content from new and classic films and TV shows. According to TikTok, half of their users say they discovered a new movie through the platform. And of those, more than a third looked up showtimes and purchased a movie ticket.
Dawn Yang, the company's global head of entertainment partnerships and business development, says studios tend to do a lot of marketing for the first weekend a film opens.
"But on TikTok, it really takes off after the first weekend," she says, "because people have seen the entire movie and they want to talk about it."
TikTokers post enthusiastic movie reviews, they cosplay and reenact scenes, and some create new edits from the official trailers and footage. For instance, 24-year-old college student Josiah Pilet remixed Spider-Man clips set to music.
Fan edits would have been no-nos in the old Hollywood strategy of protecting intellectual property, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, which analyzes the box office.
"There was a time when studios did not want marketing messaging going out that wasn't from them," he says. Now, he says even negative responses to movies are welcome "as long as it's not something horrible, that can boost the profile of a movie and excitement around it, because sometimes people want to see what the fuss is all about."
Dergarabedian says studios are increasingly embracing and harnessing the power of short TikToks made by the key Gen Z audience.
"You have some movies that open huge, have a huge opening weekend, then drop by 70% or more in their second weekend," he says. "But the way you keep people coming back is that you not only have a great movie, but the social media engagement continues, amplifies and creates that excitement and the FOMO factor among potential moviegoers."
Take last year's box office hit Sinners. Cinema United and TikTok's report found that buzz about the film surged on the platform during its opening week — and ticket sales barely dipped the following week.
But social media platforms, including TikTok, have also sometimes caused minor headaches for theaters. Last year, fan-made posts chronicled the mayhem sparked by a line spoken by Jack Black's character in The Minecraft Movie.
Audiences shouted "chicken jockey" along with him and tossed popcorn in theaters. The ruckus was so chaotic that one fan even carried a live chicken into the movie, as shown by one viral video.
At CinemaCon, Warner Bros. executives offered a good-natured apology to theater owners for the mess.
But it's not just fans posting TikToks. As executive director of communications and content for B&B Theatres, Paul Farnsworth makes funny TikToks, starring himself and the staff — often in the lobby, playing around with the latest movies.
"It's like a little wink-wink joke, nothing that you're going to like, pay money to go see a stand-up comedian say," he says. "But I think for us, it indicates to our guests a sensibility of like the playfulness of the movies, the magic of the experience, the shared communal thing that we're all trying to achieve with them."
Farnsworth says he asks the studios for guidance on the material — hoping his viral TikToks get people into movie theaters.
