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LA City Council votes to extend contract for renter aid days before expiration
Los Angeles City Hall.
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Ethan Ward
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LAist
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Topline:
Legal aid and financial assistance for tenants facing eviction in the city of Los Angeles is set to continue after the City Council voted to temporarily extend a contract the city attorney refused to sign because she argued it violated the city charter.
The backstory: Months ago, the City Council and Mayor Karen Bass approved a five-year contract renewal with Stay Housed L.A., a coalition of legal aid providers that has offered advice, representation and rent relief to thousands of renters in the last four years. The contract was set to end Tuesday because City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto would not approve it. She argued that the city should not have awarded the contract to Stay Housed L.A. without first putting it out for competitive bidding.
What’s new: The L.A. City Council voted Friday on a plan to temporarily extend the contract with Stay Housed L.A. until the city can put out a request for proposals and choose who to award the next contract. Council members approved keeping the contract in place for another seven months, or until the bidding process is completed, whichever comes first.
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LA City Council votes to extend contract for renter aid days before expiration
Why it matters: The council’s action will preserve ongoing eviction defense services for renters in the city at a time when households are losing income due to recent federal immigration raids. It will also allow Stay Housed L.A. to continue overseeing the roll-out of the city’s free “Right To Counsel” program for low-income tenants facing eviction. LAist reached out to the City Attorney’s Office for comment on the temporary extension, but hasn’t heard back.
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