What LA’s Tenant Right to Counsel Law Means for Property Owners

By Jonathan Kim (Paralegal) 

The Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance (in effect January 2025) establishes a city-funded program to provide free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction in the City of Los Angeles. Several tenant friendly law firms, such as Legal Aid Foundation Los Angeles, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and Eviction Defense Network, have partnered with the city to represent tenants in court, where most tenants historically have appeared without counsel. With this municipal support, these firms have bolstered their eviction defense teams and have implemented new strategies to oppose landlords’ attempts to pursue lawful evictions. 

Amended Answer 

Since the adoption of the new Tenant’s Right to Counsel Ordinance, tenants have filed initial responsive pleadings or “answer” without representation often as a bare-bones effort to avoid being defaulted. These initial responsive pleadings are usually written in a manner that would be vulnerable to attack due to their lack of specificity or legal sufficiency; however, tenants have a statutory window of 10 days to amend their answers without leave of court. Once an amended answer has been filed, it supersedes the original and invalidates all work done to attack/address the initial answer. In practice, this process is often used—whether intentionally or strategically—as a delay tactic. The amended answer will raise dozens upon dozens of affirmative defenses, which would necessitate the need for extensive discovery. 

Discovery 

Tenant-friendly law firms have become much more aggressive with issuing discovery questions and document requests, including interrogatories, requests for production, and admissions. Many have adopted a formulaic, assembly-line approach—utilizing standardized forms with checkboxes that allow attorneys to quickly generate broad sets of discovery demands. Landlords cannot simply ignore these discovery requests, as doing so may lead to sanctions and/or motions to compel. When these same firms receive discovery requests themselves, they will request multiple extensions, as there is only an initial 5-day response time. It is apparent that firms are using the discovery process in order to put landlords under a time constraint and a resource strain in order to force early settlements.  

Jury Trial Preparation 

Now that tenants have access to readily available legal counsel, they are no longer afraid to proceed with trial. In fact, it has become common practice for tenants to demand jury trials in nearly every unlawful detainer case. While this is undoubtedly a constitutional right, the strategic benefit is clear: tenants may believe they are more likely to receive a favorable outcome from a jury composed of community members than from a bench trial decided solely by a judge. This shift has significantly increased the complexity and cost of litigation for landlords, who must now be prepared to meet the heightened procedural demands of jury trials. 

Landlords and their counsel must invest substantial time and resources into preparing a wide range of pretrial documents, including but not limited to proposed jury instructions, exhibit lists, witness lists, motions in limine, and trial briefs. Additionally, litigating before a jury introduces more variables and risks, requiring more nuanced trial strategy, voir dire preparation, and trial presentation skills. 

Even when the case reaches its scheduled trial date, tenant attorneys may engage in further procedural maneuvering to delay proceedings. These tactics may include refusing to stipulate to a judge—triggering the reassignment of the case—or filing motions to have the matter heard in a different department altogether. Such actions, while legally permissible, often result in additional continuances or administrative delays, further burdening landlords with extended litigation timelines and increased legal expenses. 

Conclusion 

It’s a new landscape for landlords navigating evictions, but all hope is far from lost. At Kendall Law, our dedicated eviction-defense team has gone toe-to-toe with the most aggressive tenant-advocacy firms for months—securing multiple favorable judgments and negotiating settlements on behalf of our clients. Don’t face eviction lawsuits alone. Schedule a consultation with Kendall Law or call 310-619-4941 today and put seasoned litigators on your side.