City of L.A.’s New Tenants’ Right to Counsel Program
A new ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles known as the “Right to Counsel Program Ordinance” will directly impact rental housing providers. The Right to Counsel Program Ordinance is designed to provide legal representation to tenants facing eviction proceedings. This new ordinance is effective as of August 25, 2025.
Under the Right to Counsel Program, property owners renting housing units located in the City of Los Angeles are required to:
- Provide a Notice of Right to Counsel at the beginning of a tenancy in the tenant’s primary language. Notices will soon be made available on the city’s website in several languages.
- Attach a Notice of Right to Counsel to a copy of any eviction notice served on a tenant or to any notice of termination of a rental housing subsidy (e.g., Section 8).
- Attach a Notice of Right to Counsel to any Section 8 administrative proceeding or correspondence that may result in termination of the tenant’s rental housing subsidy.
- Post the Notice of Right to Counsel in a conspicuous common area of the residential building where the tenant resides. English language signage versions of the Notice of Right to Counsel will be available for purchase on the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles website
In the event of a housing provider’s failure to comply with each of the above requirements, any eligible tenant may assert as an affirmative defense the failure to comply with any provision of the Right to Counsel Program Ordinance. For more information, go to: https://housing.lacity.gov/rtc.