Editorial News Alert: Los Angeles County Commits to Permanently Pay Private Attorneys to Fight Evict
On July 16th (first reading) and July 23rd (second reading) the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass an ordinance making the existing Stay Housed L.A. right to counsel pilot program a permanent program despite lacking any source of permanent funding for the program. This egregious lapse in financial responsibility is thanks to the Supervisors letting emotions override common sense once again.
Once again, tenant activists showed up in mass and advocated for their cause, while property owners stayed home basically leaving the opposition efforts almost exclusively to AAGLA. With only a single property owner present to voice personal opposition as a constituent, efforts to oppose the latest Los Angeles County ordinance fell on the deaf ears of Supervisors.
Stay Housed LA Pilot Program
Stay Housed LA was a pilot program created in July 2020 to provide private legal representation paid for by the County to low-income households making less than 80% of the area median income and to fight legal evictions on behalf of renters whether due to At-Fault or No-Fault reasons. Stay Housed LA’s own data shows that 80% of all evictions are simply for non-payment of rent. At the meeting, many renters appeared and stated during public comments that they needed financial help to pay their rent rather than needing a costly attorney. However, the Supervisors ignored the substance of their pleas (made more difficult by the extreme limit dictated by Chair Lindsey Horvath of only allowing one minute to speak per person) having already made up their minds to support the radical tenant activists’ agenda over actual renters prior to even walking into the meeting.
Does Nothing to Solve the Problem
The Supervisors were not interested in looking at the real reason that renters are being evicted and their need for immediate and direct financial assistance by the County with a permanent rental assistance program to keep their housing. Instead, the Supervisors prefer to enrich private attorneys to delay the eviction process rather than paying the rent and avoiding evictions entirely. This is one more example of local government creating a problem and then refusing to solve it in the simplest and most expedient manner. This time those who benefit are private attorneys who will only waste taxpayer dollars running-up legal bills delaying what is ultimately the inevitable. So, it should be of no surprise to anyone that several of the attorney groups showed up to speak in favor of the ordinance along with tenant activists as they will be the “pigs” eating from this new, permanent taxpayer funded trough.
It will cost the County $21 million to fund this program for 1 year (fiscal year 2024-25) using one-time funding sources. The total amount for attorneys’ fees is $13.4 million. Less than one third of that amount is budgeted for either rental assistance ($4 million) or outreach to renters ($3.5 million). According to the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ (DCBA)s report referencing U.S. Census Bureau data, the average amount of back rent owed per renter is $3,500. An average attorney’s fee is $300 per hour (and Stay Housed LA wants to increase that rate to “attract” new attorneys). So, the Supervisors have decided that it is better to pay for less than 12 hours of an attorney’s time to argue about an eviction rather than paying off the entire amount of back rent owed and avoiding the eviction entirely. Shame on the Board of Supervisors for financing private attorneys rather than paying the rent for housing that low-income families need!
AAGLA Stood Alone and Voiced Strong Opposition
AAGLA appeared both in-person and by phone to zealously oppose this waste of taxpayer funding on a “solution” that does NOT actually “fix” the problem. Unfortunately, we were the only rental housing organization to do so and only one individual owner called in to speak against it. Not even the California Apartment Association (CAA) nor the Apartment Owners Association (AOA) were present in person or via phone – AAGLA stood alone. In contrast there were approximately 50 tenant activists and renters from 5 different organizations, including ACCE, CPC, LACAN, LIBRE, and SAJE as well as private attorneys (those that would receive the funding) that spoke in favor of the ordinance. It is this severely lopsided turnout that gives the Supervisors the cover they need to abuse rental housing providers with such an ill-conceived permanent program.
AAGLA voiced its strong opposition to this new permanent program at the Board of Supervisors meeting a second time at the Tuesday, July 23rd when the ordinance received its final reading. While we were unable to change the minds of the Supervisors, we made sure our voice was heard – again – on this very misguided policy!
This fight is not over as the County only has enough one-time funding on hand to pay for one year, Fiscal Year 2024-25, of the new permanent program. After that they will need to find a new permanent source of funding or pull money away from core County services to pay for it. Also, the County still intends to expand this program Countywide by 2030, so stay tuned. It is imperative that AAGLA members continue to email and call the Supervisors to oppose them spending taxpayer money on private attorneys for Right to Counsel instead of creating a permanent direct rental assistance program needed by low-income renters.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS EMAILS AND PHONE NUMBERS, PLEASE CLICK HERE
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific tenancies and the requirements of any local law changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.