On Tuesday, July 16, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance, which will provide free legal representation to eligible tenants facing eviction in unincorporated Los Angeles County beginning in January of 2025.

The new ordinance will bring about a major expansion to the highly successful Stay Housed LA program, the County’s comprehensive eviction defense program, which since 2020 has provided tenants with information and resources to help minimize tenant displacement and homelessness. Stay Housed LA is administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs.

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance will codify a program that provides legal representation to eligible tenants who have received an unlawful detainer in unincorporated Los Angeles County and whose household income is equal to or less than 80 percent of the area median income. A lack of access to legal representation discourages tenants from challenging unlawful evictions and asserting their rights, which contributes to the disruption of families and communities and homelessness in the county.

Under the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance, landlords will be required to provide tenants with notice of county’s eviction defense program in English and any other frequently spoken languages when they serve a tenant a notice of termination of tenancy. Additionally, the notice must be posted on rental properties in an accessible area and any available onsite management office.

By unanimously approving the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance, the Board of Supervisors will grant Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and its partners the authority to provide access to justice and guaranteed legal representation to vulnerable L.A. County tenants facing eviction.

“This type of change and investment in our communities does not happen without the bold leadership and compassion demonstrated by our Board of Supervisors as well as the support of our 25 CBOs that comprise our program. The Tenant Right to Counsel ordinance has been years in the making and is a momentous occasion,” said Rafael Carbajal, Director of Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. “DCBA welcomes the opportunity to significantly expand Stay Housed LA and increase our tenant protection efforts, while continuing to advance initiatives and services that create a more equitable Los Angeles for property owners, renters, workers and county residents.”

Stay Housed LA is a partnership between Los Angeles County, the city of Los Angeles, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Liberty Hill Foundation, and a network of over 20 local community and legal service providers. Together they have helped over 3,500 tenant households in the county’s service area by providing limited legal services and full-scope legal representation in calendar year 2023. Department of Consumer and Business Affairs projects that within this fiscal year alone, over 15,000 residents that live in unincorporated communities and cities, other than the city of Los Angeles, from within the county will seek Stay Housed LA’s services.

Tenants who are facing an eviction can learn more about Stay Housed LA by visiting stayhousedla.org or calling 888-694-0040.