The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors finally put an important resource in the hands of many Angelenos last Tuesday, voting to adopt an ordinance that gives the legal right of counsel to tenants being served an unlawful detainer — more commonly known as an eviction — in the unincorporated territories of Los Angeles County.

There are areas throughout the county far from the center of Los Angeles that are listed on the map as being in Los Angeles, going as far as Terminal Island just west of Long Beach. These areas are not technically incorporated into any city, which means they are governed by the county-level government of Los Angeles as opposed to any city-level entity.

Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents a portion of the Westside, was emphatic about the importance of giving unincorporated tenants the right to counsel, arguing it is a necessary tool in the effort to help keep as many people housed as possible. 

She said that efforts like this help extend the many tools that are needed to help combat homelessness, noting that many people have expressed confusion in navigating the many technicalities of the law. 

“I continue to hear from property owners in my district — many of whom are black and brown — that the county’s housing laws are complex and hard to navigate for mom-and-pop landlords and tenants alike,” Mitchell said.

About 90 percent of people fighting evictions do so without representation, and the program could potentially impact 9,000 people according to First District Supervisor Hilda Solis — who coauthored the original motion in July 2023 with Mitchell.

Mitchell explained that while it directly assists in housing-related cases, it is part of a larger effort to provide universal and affordable legal representation to Los Angeles residents in both civil and criminal cases.

“This ordinance is a significant step towards realizing this vision for civil cases,” Mitchell said.

Notably, the program will not apply to cases for tenants in properties run by the Los Angeles County Development Authority.  

These Right to Counsel services will be provided by designated organizations with funding provided by the county. The first year of the program will be funded by the Stay Housed LA program, which has secured money for the 2024-25 fiscal year, but the financial situation beyond that is unclear.

Costs for the program are expected to rise from year to year, and supervisor Kathryn Barger suggested that it could end up being a program run countywide, which would allow it to qualify for 2017’s Measure H Homeless and Housing Special Revenue Funds.

Barger also said that she had also heard tenants lament about issues with their landlords and their lease, and they faced the same issue of not knowing how or where to find the legal resources that they would need to handle the situation.

“Many of these renters did not have access to legal resources and felt trapped in their circumstances,” she said. “Programs like these are vital in helping people stay housed and reduce the rate of homelessness.” 

In many of these situations, organizations like Door of Hope and Friends in Deed in Pasadena assisted these residents, filling the gap that this new program is meant to service.

First District Supervisor Hilda Solis noted that the eviction rate for black women was the highest of any demographic in Los Angeles County and that the undocumented community’s eviction rate is also underreported in part because they do not know where to acquire legal services that will not jeopardize their immigration status.

“That should be something that we really focus on here and understand who we are impacting,” Solis said.  

Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn’s comments were in consideration of landlords, wondering how much landlords know about this program. She explained that she has heard from landlords who wondered why they were not included in this program, but that the county does have other services like mediation to offer to landlords in these cases.

Third District Supervisor and Board Chair Lindsay Horvath, who represents most of the Westside, noted in her personal experience, that she hadn’t seen property owners come to eviction cases without representation. She also pointed out that one of the biggest difficulties in the homelessness crisis is ensuring people are not removed from the housing that they are placed in. She emphasized the board’s commitment to homelessness services and tenants.

“Please know you have willing partners on the board to work with you to ensure we keep more Angelenos housed,” Horvath told the service providers who attended the meeting.

The motion to adopt the ordinance passed unanimously, 5-0.

Photo credit to Tingey Injury Law Firm photo on Unsplash.com