In an effort to stem the flow of people falling into homelessness, tenants who live in Los Angeles County’s unincorporated communities will get free legal representation to fight evictions — part of an ordinance approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 16.
In a unanimous vote, the board deemed it a right for residents facing evictions to be given legal representation, and that help will be dependent on income levels. The supervisors see the action as codifying another tool for battling homelessness by preventing more people from losing their homes and facing survival on the streets.
In a pilot program, the county has been offering legal services to some renters in need for about a year. About 50% of tenants who received legal assistance remained in their homes, the county reported. But many said help is only reaching a small fraction of those being evicted in a cycle that adds to the homeless crisis.
“We’ve heard from experts that people are falling into homelessness faster than we can get people off the streets and into housing,” said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn. She said the program will level the playing field and give renters a better chance to stay housed. “Many cannot afford legal representation and their landlords often can.”
The action affects one million residents living in unincorporated communities, which include East Los Angeles, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Altadena, Baldwin Hills, Topanga and small pockets in the San Fernando Valley and South Bay that are not within Los Angeles or other cities.
Hahn urged cities in L.A. County to do the same. “We hope to see some of the 88 cities (in the county) adopt it and follow suit,” she said. Solis said five states and 17 U.S. cities have adopted similar ordinances.
The right-to-counsel ordinance was first proposed by Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell in July 2023. That led to the ordinance approved on Tuesday. She said those most affected by jacked up rents and evictions are people of color.
“Blacks and Latin people experience the highest level of evictions than any other racial groups,” Mitchell said. “And housing is expensive and unaffordable for too many working people.”
In 2023, the county reported 44,000 eviction notices in the courts in L.A. County, said Lindsey Horvath, Third District supervisor and board chair. Eviction filings are the highest in nearly a decade, the county reported.
L.A. County has 75,312 homeless people according to results of the 2024 point-in-time homeless count. But the number of unsheltered people — people living in tents, vehicles, and makeshift shelters — dropped by 5.1%, while people living in shelters rose by 12.7%.
While homeless numbers stabilized, with more people being sheltered, the fact that there wasn’t a big drop in the total homeless population could be attributed to more people losing their homes.
Speaker after speaker told heartbreaking stories of huge spikes in rents that often drove people out of their homes and onto the streets. Many who spoke were Black or Latino, with a majority of Latino people speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. The testimony presented a picture of people asking for legal representation as one tool to help them stay housed.
Carmarina Perez of East Los Angeles said she was served an eviction notice. “I pay $800 (for rent) and now they want me to pay $3,000,” she told the board. “We need more lawyers for legal representation.”
Delvin Enriquez, who lives in South Los Angeles, said she was evicted and didn’t know how to fight it because she did not have a lawyer. “I have been in the streets for 18 months, sleeping in my car with my family and our dog,” she testified, choking back tears.
Sophia Mendoza, who is being helped by a lawyer and is a member of the group Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), said having legal representation has helped her very much. “It is so important because there are so many kids in the street near me, I’ve seen them. Having a home is a human right.”
The program will cost about $65 million and is funded through June 30, 2025. After that, the county is looking at using funds from the 2017 anti-homeless initiative Measure H, or funds from a new measure on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Jesus Rojas, with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, asked the board to delay the ordinance. He suggested the money be used for rental assistance for those who are unemployed, ill or disabled and can’t pay rent. “The vast majority of evictions are for not paying rent,” he said.
The county’s Stay Housed LA program has poured $46.4 million into rental assistance grants as of July 16, helping 6,600 people stay housed, said Rafael Carbajal, director of the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs.
Having an attorney present in eviction court can make a big difference in slowing the flow of new homeless, but it will not solve a complex homeless crisis, experts said.
The county and city of Los Angeles have focused on getting those out of encampments and into hotels as temporary shelters, then arranging for permanent housing. The county has teams that treat those on the street with opioid addiction and mental illness. Stopping so-called “newly homeless” from living in cars, RVs or the streets presents another challenge.
President Joe Biden will propose a 5% cap on annual rent increases for tenants of major landlords, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. News reports said he is trying to show he is doing something about the high cost of housing as he faces a tense presidential campaign and at a time when housing costs have been a major driver of overall inflation.
“We need multi-layered approaches,” said Oscar Zarate, director of building equity and transit at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), an L.A.-based nonprofit. SAJE organizers, who help locate lawyers and housing for low-income residents, said the testimony from people who are hurting is all too real.
Gloria Rubio, wearing a SAJE shirt, is being evicted from a home she’s lived in for 21 years but can no longer afford the higher rent. “I have two sons and one with cancer. I am desperate. I don’t know where to go,” she said.
Mariana Luna, who volunteers with SAJE and lives in Los Angeles, said she’s heard of mothers losing their homes and attempting suicide. Some can’t buy food because they pay rents that have gone up dramatically in recent months. “I feel ashamed and embarrassed to live in the wealthiest city in the world but see so many troubled,” she told the board. “We need to make sure housing can be secure — for everyone in L.A.”
The new ordinance comes before the board for second and final vote on July 23 and will become effective on Jan. 1, 2025.
The Associated Press and SCNG Staff Writer Clara Harter contributed to this article.
