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Legal Aid Foundation / House LA Fund / Eviction Defense / Homelessness Prevention / Tenant Outreach / Education / Contract

Council File 20-1084-S4

Pending — Council approved the five-year contract with the Legal Aid Foundation to continue eviction defense services through 2030, but a City Attorney report sent to committee in June 2026 has stalled further action and awaits a committee hearing.

Introduced
2025-04-11
Last changed
2026-07-06
Status
open
Expires
2028-07-06
Committee
Housing and Homelessness Committee
Mover
YSABEL JURADO
Second
HUGO SOTO­-MARTÍNEZ
References
Prior Contract: C-138260City Administrative Officer Report: 0220-00540-1734Related Council File: 23-0038-S8Motion (Raman - Yaroslavsky) dated4-11-2025City Attorney Report: R26-0340; R26-0391

Brief

Councilmembers Jurado and Soto-Martinez introduced a motion to authorize and fund the City's contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles for eviction defense services and the United to House Los Angeles homelessness prevention program. The motion was adopted by Council on March 10, 2026 by a vote of 13-0-2 and transmitted to the Mayor. The file is currently pending in the Housing and Homelessness Committee after a June 17, 2026 committee meeting was cancelled.

Full summary

This file authorizes a new five-year, sole-source contract between the City and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) to continue and expand eviction defense, homelessness prevention, and tenant outreach and education services through June 30, 2030. LAFLA serves as the lead contractor for StayHousedLA, a consortium of legal service providers that offers eviction prevention services, legal representation, and public outreach to income-qualified tenants across Los Angeles. The City launched the Eviction Defense Program in July 2021, and the passage of Measure ULA in November 2022 provided a dedicated funding stream, allocating 30 percent of the measure's homelessness prevention dollars across five program areas including eviction defense and prevention at 10 percent and tenant outreach and education at 2 percent. The motion, originally presented by Councilmember Nithya Raman, directed the Los Angeles Housing Department to negotiate and execute a new contract with LAFLA worth up to $33,757,172.67 over five years. That total draws from unexpended encumbered funds of $27,177,754.32 carried over from the prior contract, plus an additional $6,579,418.35 from the House LA Fund. The motion also authorized LAHD to disencumber the carryover funds from the prior contract and re-encumber them under the new agreement. The Council found that LAFLA's specialized legal services qualify for a sole-source contract rather than competitive bidding. The contract's authorization aligns with the Right to Counsel Program Ordinance adopted by Council on April 1, 2025, which permanently codifies the Eviction Defense Program citywide and establishes eligible tenants' right to legal representation in eviction and related administrative proceedings. The motion moved through the Housing and Homelessness Committee and Council in stages across 2025 and into 2026. An initial version was approved by committee in April 2025 and adopted by Council. A subsequent amendment (Motion 32A, Jurado-Soto-Martinez) was adopted by Council on June 27, 2025. After a further City Administrative Officer review and additional amendments approved by the Housing and Homelessness Committee on February 11, 2026, Council adopted the final amended version on March 10, 2026 by a vote of 13-0-2. The file was transmitted to the Mayor on March 11, 2026 and Council action was declared final that same day. Following the Mayor's action, a new motion was referred to the Housing and Homelessness Committee on June 2, 2026, accompanied by a City Attorney report dated June 15, 2026. A committee meeting was scheduled for June 17, 2026 to consider the City Attorney's document but was cancelled. The file remains pending in the Housing and Homelessness Committee as of the last recorded activity.

Activity (40)

  • 2026-07-06 City Attorney document(s) referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2026-07-06 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated July 2, 2026.
  • 2026-06-17 Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting cancelled.
  • 2026-06-16 City Attorney document(s) referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2026-06-15 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated June 15, 2026.
  • 2026-06-12 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 17, 2026.
  • 2026-06-02 Motion referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2026-03-11 Council action final.
  • 2026-03-11 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is March 23, 2026.
  • 2026-03-10 Council adopted item as amended, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2026-03-10 Council adopted item as amended by , subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2026-03-03 Council continued item to March 10, 2026 .
  • 2026-02-24 Council continued item to March 3, 2026 .
  • 2026-02-20 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on February 24, 2026.
  • 2026-02-11 Housing and Homelessness Committee approved as amended .
  • 2026-02-10 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on February 11, 2026.
  • 2026-02-10 Los Angeles Housing Department document(s) referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2026-02-10 Document submitted by Los Angeles Housing Department; Mayor, dated February 10, 2026.
  • 2025-10-27 Council action final.
  • 2025-10-27 City Clerk re-transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is November 6, 2025.
  • 2025-10-22 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is November 3, 2025.
  • 2025-10-22 Council adopted item as amended by Motion 22A (Raman - Blumenfield), as amended by Motion (Raman - Yaroslavsky), forthwith.
  • 2025-10-17 Council continued item to October 22, 2025 .
  • 2025-10-15 Housing and Homelessness Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2025-10-14 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on October 17, 2025.
  • 2025-10-10 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on October 15, 2025.
  • 2025-09-26 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2025-09-26 Document submitted by the Mayor, City Administrative Officer report dated September 26, 2025.
  • 2025-06-27 Council action final.
  • 2025-06-27 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is July 7, 2025.
  • 2025-06-27 Council adopted item as amended by Motion 32A (Jurado - Soto-Martinez), forthwith.
  • 2025-06-24 Document(s) submitted by Los Angeles Housing Department, as follows:Los Angeles Housing Department report dated June 24, 2025 relative to a request for authority to execute a contract amendment with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to extend the term of the contract and issue a request for proposals for the continuation of the eviction defense program and United to House Los Angeles Homelessness Prevention Program Services.
  • 2025-06-24 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on June 27, 2025.
  • 2025-06-24 Los Angeles Housing Department document(s) referred to Council.
  • 2025-05-01 Council action final.
  • 2025-04-25 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-04-23 Housing and Homelessness Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2025-04-22 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on April 25, 2025.
  • 2025-04-18 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 23, 2025.
  • 2025-04-11 Motion referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.

Documents (54)

Council votes (1)

  • 2026-03-10 Vote — 13-0-2 · Regular

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