LA County Supervisors Want To Provide Free Attorneys To Renters Facing Eviction

The vast majority of landlords filing evictions in the L.A. area have attorneys, but few tenants show up to court with legal representation.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors wants to change that. On Tuesday, they voted 5 to 0 to take the first step toward creating a program that would provide free attorneys to tenants in danger of losing their homes.

“We're in the middle of a housing crisis, and it's important to keep people housed,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who co-authored the proposal. “Legal representation is expensive and unaffordable to far too many working people.”

Free legal won’t be available immediately. The vote in support of a “right to counsel” program directed county staff to develop a draft ordinance that could be voted on 10 months from now.

The first phase of the program envisioned by county leaders would only apply to low-income renters in unincorporated parts of L.A. County. The supervisors said their plan is to eventually create a universal, countywide program by 2030, depending on funding.

As mayor of West Hollywood, an eviction notice

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, the only renter on the board, said her yes vote in part stemmed from personal experience. She said back when she was the mayor of West Hollywood, her landlord taped a three-day eviction notice to her door, despite her always paying rent on time.

“If they are willing to do this to a mayor of a city — a city that at the time fought for renters — they are certainly willing to do this to people who have far fewer resources,” Horvath said. “If I hadn't had friends who had legal training to protect me, I don't know what would have happened.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, dozens of tenants lined up to deliver public comment in support of the proposal. Many recounted personal stories of struggling to navigate confusing eviction proceedings without the help of an attorney.

“My experience of what it feels like when you have no legal representation when they try to evict you was horrible,” said renter Edgar Valencia, who said he was ultimately able to find legal aid through local nonprofits. “Some of us barely can afford to pay the high rent with our income, much less will we be able to pay for a lawyer.”

Studies across the country have found that most tenants without legal representation lose their cases, but that the likelihood of staying housed significantly increases when tenants receive legal help. Cities such as New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco have passed some form of right to counsel.

Cost and timeline concerns

Landlord advocates also spoke during the meeting, opposing the plan over questions of cost-effectiveness. They said in many cases, giving tenants rent relief funds to cover shortfalls would make more sense than paying attorneys to intervene in disputes.

“It costs thousands of dollars to provide legal counsel for one case. Tax dollars can go much further through a rental subsidy,” said Fred Sutton, L.A. spokesperson for the California Apartment Association. “[A right to counsel program] only delays the process and does not stop a lawful claim to reclaim your property.”

The county’s timeline for launching a right to counsel program will leave out renters facing eviction now or in the near future as a result of L.A.’s COVID-19 protections going away earlier this year.

“We certainly would have liked to see a shorter timeline,” said Sasha Harnden, a policy advocate for the Inner City Law Center, who supports the proposal. “But it's true that we need a big expansion of these services and of the attorneys who provide them. We're glad that the county is not simply turning on a fire hose right away.”

Pablo Estupiñan, head of the L.A. Right To Counsel Coalition, estimates that there are about 50 eviction defense attorneys currently helping low-income renters across L.A. County. He said to meet demand from every tenant who needs help, the county would need about 400 attorneys.

Estupiñan said his group is working to train law students and build a pipeline of attorneys interested in housing law.

“We want to build a movement of lawyers dedicated to eviction defense,” he said.

Where to get help now

Currently, the city and county of Los Angeles are funding StayHousedLA.org, an umbrella organization made up of tenant advocacy groups. For renters who need help now, they provide legal assistance and in some cases full legal representation to those who’ve faced eviction since the start of the pandemic.

The county’s right to counsel proposal comes on the heels of a similar effort in the city of L.A. Councilmembers there voted in March to instruct the city’s housing department to report back within 60 days on plans for implementing a right to counsel program, but that report is now overdue. The council is currently on recess until the end of July.

Funding source still unclear

In late 2019, the policy consulting firm Stout estimated that creating a right to counsel throughout L.A. County would cost about $47 million per year, not including the cost of providing lawyers to renters who live within the city of L.A. The Stout consultants also concluded those dollars would be recouped by saving the county about $227 million in costs that would typically be spent on homelessness aid and other services to tenants who could otherwise be evicted.

It’s not yet clear how the program will be funded. Mitchell, the county supervisor, suggested the funding for the right to counsel program could eventually come from the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, a new body tasked with developing solutions for the region’s housing crisis and convincing voters to fund efforts through future ballot measures.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted for the proposal, but said the county will have to keep an eye on how any future funds are spent.

“I want to make sure that these programs are utilized by those in the most need, and not commandeered by bad actors looking to exploit resources,” Barger said. “We do not have a sustainable funding source identified at this time.”