On July 23, 2024, County Supervisors unanimously passed an amendment to Chapter 8 of the Los Angeles County Code, (Chapter 8.60) creating the “Tenant Right To Counsel” ordinance in which eligible tenants, (low income tenants in unincorporated areas of the county who are named as a defendant in an eviction) will receive free “full scope legal representation” in all evictions. What does that mean? Well, it means they will have a free attorney for the entire eviction process, from consulting with the tenants as soon as they receive a termination notice, to drafting and filing their pleadings, to demanding and representing them in jury trials, and all the way through the lockout period, including free document preparation, negotiations, court appearances, and any other necessary task on behalf of the defendant.

As with all tenant protection ordinances, there are several administrative requirements with which landlords must comply. For example, landlords must provide each tenant a notice of the “Tenant Right to Counsel Program.” The Department will publish the form notice in both English and other commonly spoken languages. Where the rental agreement was written in a language other than English, you will have to provide the notice in both English, and the language in which the Rental Agreement was written.

In addition to the notice requirement, you must provide the notice to the tenants in a specific manner. For example, landlords must provide the notice when they serve any kind of notice terminating the tenancy, (e.g., 3-Day Pay Rent or Quit notices, Cure Covenant notices, 3-Day Quit notices for nuisance activities, etc.). Moreover, the “Tenant Right to Counsel Program” notice must also be posted in both, an “accessible area” of the property, and in any available on-site management office.

What happens if you aren’t aware of these requirements, and you serve a termination notice without the required notices in place? In such a situation, the city can bring both civil and criminal penalties against you. What are those penalties? Well, failure to comply will get you injunctive, declaratory and equitable relief, as well as restitution, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. It will also land you an $800 penalty for each violation, as well as a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine not to exceed $800, imprisonment in the County jail for up to six (6) months, or both.

Remember, each incident, (and/or day) in violation of the ordinance constitutes a separate violation. So, let’s say you aren’t aware of the notice requirements and you serve a termination notice. Furthermore, let’s assume you go through with the eviction which, after 90 days, results in a sheriff lockout. If the tenant can prove that they were unable to participate in the program as a result of your failure to provide them with the mandated notice of the program, your penalties would be no less than $72,000 (per tenant) and up to six months in county jail.

Let’s be clear, this new ordinance will apply to virtually any type of building rented or offered for rent for residential purposes, regardless of whether the rental unit is legally permitted. Moreover, it will cover all residential rental units located in the Unincorporated Areas, including joint living and work quarters, live-work spaces, mobile homes rented by the owner to a Tenant, and any accessory dwelling unit.

It is my understanding that the County of Los Angeles currently has only enough one-time funding sources available to pay for one year of the program, which they claim will cost $21 million for that year. After that they will need to find a new permanent source of funding or pull money away from other County services to pay for it. Of the $21 million dollar war chest at their disposal, the amount earmarked for attorneys’ fees is $13.4 million dollars of which, approximately $4 million dollars are budgeted for rental assistance and $3.5 million is earmarked for outreach programs to inform the residents about the new program.

You might be asking yourself why the County of Los Angeles would use millions of dollars to pay attorneys to fight landlords, when they could just as easily use it equitably to fund the rental assistance program. Well, it’s a “numbers” game. According to the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ (DCBA’s) report, the average amount of back rent owed per renter is $3,500. Using the County’s figure, the County could fund the “renter’s assistance” program, resulting in rental assistance to approximately 6,000 households, ($21 million divided by $3,500 in unpaid rent).

However, while the County may be able to assist 6,000 households, (and landlords) by using the money to fund the rental assistance program, the 13.4 million dollars will buy 44,666 hours of attorney representation, ($13.4 million dollars divided by the County’s estimate of $300 per hour for attorney fees). Forty-four thousand hours ($44,000) will get you a lot of attorney time in a lot of evictions. In other words, they will get more bang for their buck by paying the attorneys, (as hard as that may be to believe) than they will by reimbursing landlords for the unpaid rent. The numbers don’t lie, and the County knows the numbers.

Think this doesn’t impact you because it is limited to those tenants in the unincorporated areas? Think again. The County of Los Angeles intends to expand this program to every city in the county by 2030. Think it won’t spread outside Los Angels? Think again. If you want a better picture of this nationwide growing trend, just search “Tenant Right to Counsel” and see what you find.

So, what is the solution? Screening, screening, screening. But even that is being taken away from you. Under this year’s proposed Assembly Bill 2493, (if passed as currently written) landlords who want to charge applicants a screening fee will, if the bill passes, be forced to either refund the screening fee to any applicant not approved, or accept the first applicant who qualifies under the landlord’s rental criteria. But that’s a topic for a different article.

Written by Michael A. Brennan, Founder, Brennan Law Firm (Eviction Attorneys)

The information is presented and intended to address the topic(s) covered above in a general nature. There may be significant differences between jurisdictions with “rent control” and/or “just cause” ordinances, and the facts surrounding your specific situation should be presented to your attorney for review. The Brennan Law Firm is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable Landlord/Tenant law firms in Southern California, representing landlords exclusively in evictions. The firm may be reached at (626)294-0500, or toll free at (855)285-2230. Visit our website at www.MBrennanLaw.com for more information.