L.a. Will Continue To Fund Eviction Defense Program

A dispute complete nan metropolis of Los Angeles’ eviction defense programme came to an extremity Tuesday erstwhile nan City Council approved millions of dollars successful backing for nan adjacent 15 months.

The program, Stay Housed L.A., started successful 2021 and provides thousands of renters pinch ineligible practice successful eviction proceedings arsenic good arsenic different services.

Tenant advocates feared that nan caller contract, which passed 12 to 1 and costs an first information of a three-year, $177-million contract, was nether threat aft City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto urged nan assembly to reconsider it successful a confidential memo past week.

Feldstein Soto said she had concerns astir awarding specified a ample statement to Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, which often sues nan metropolis complete homelessness issues.

Legal Aid is nan main ineligible work supplier nether nan Stay Housed L.A. contract, which besides costs Southern California Housing Rights Center for short-term emergency rental assistance, Liberty Hill Foundation for tenant outreach and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy to protect tenants from harassment.

The city’s Housing Department had recommended a three-year contract, but nan assembly opted for a shorter play that tin beryllium extended.

Legal Aid has based on that its lawsuits against nan metropolis are unrelated to its eviction defense activity nether nan Stay Housed L.A. contract.

“We are very relieved that our services tin proceed uninterrupted,” said Barbara Schultz, head of lodging justness for Legal Aid, successful an question and reply aft nan vote.

Feldstein Soto, who is moving for reelection, said successful a connection that her agency wanted to make judge nan metropolis wasn’t giving a “blank check” to Legal Aid without requiring elaborate reporting of finances and outcomes.

“The eviction defense programme is simply a metropolis programme and is successful zero jeopardy,” she said. “What is successful mobility is simply a $177-million blank cheque to [Legal Aid] and its partners without nan reports and invoice reappraisal that is required by law. That is an magnitude that exceeds nan fund of galore metropolis departments.”

On Tuesday, nan City Council added a request that nan nonprofits successful nan programme supply “performance metrics” including nan number of tenants served, lawsuit outcomes and demographic data.

Schultz said that Legal Aid already provides monthly information to nan city.

John Lee was nan only councilmember who voted against nan caller contract, saying he was not comfortable pinch nan caller “transparency requirements.”

Since its inception, Stay Housed L.A. has opened astir 26,000 cases overall, providing afloat practice for 6,150 cases and moving connected astir 20,000 “limited scope” cases, according to information from Legal Aid. The original contract, which is group to lapse astatine nan extremity of nan month, was for astir $90 million.

The programme is funded by Measure ULA, nan “mansion tax” passed by metropolis voters successful 2022. On Tuesday, nan assembly included a proviso that would let it to cease backing nan eviction defense programme if Measure ULA were overturned.