Lawyers might be provided to renters facing eviction in L.A. County

Los Angeles County supervisors have granted approval for the development of a new ordinance that would provide free legal assistance to renters facing eviction, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The motion allows a 10-month period for staff to draft the ordinance, which aims to guarantee tenants in vulnerable situations the right to legal representation during landlord-tenant proceedings. Initially, the legal services would be established in unincorporated areas, accommodating approximately 1 million residents. The ordinance would then be expanded to aid tenants in other parts of the county, excluding the city of Los Angeles, where the City Council is working on its own ordinance to ensure tenants have access to legal representation.

According to a report from the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs in April, the proposed ordinance is estimated to cost $22 million in its first year. Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who co-authored the motion with Supervisor Hilda Solis, emphasized that legal representation is often unaffordable for many working individuals. Mitchell pointed out that a significant number of at-risk renters are Black and Latino individuals, who are more likely to experience rent burdens in the county.

In light of the termination of the county’s pandemic eviction moratorium in March, the supervisors aim to ensure that at-risk renters receive the necessary legal support to prevent homelessness. They seek to address the power imbalance between landlords, who frequently have legal representation, and tenants who often appear in eviction proceedings without legal counsel, struggling to understand the complex legal jargon in eviction filings.

Tenant advocates argue that landlords are more likely to have legal representation during eviction proceedings compared to renters. An analysis of 4,200 eviction cases in Los Angeles County in 2019 revealed that 97 percent of tenants involved in those cases did not have lawyers, while landlords were unrepresented in only 12 percent of cases. Several jurisdictions, including New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, have already implemented similar “right to counsel” laws.

Advocates argue that without legal representation, renters are often left defenseless, regardless of existing tenant protections. A study from last year estimated that unpaid back rent in the greater Los Angeles area could exceed $1 billion. Opponents contend that implementing a right to counsel ordinance in such cases would only prolong the legal proceedings without completely halting the evictions.