To the editor: Economist George Zuo clearly doesn't understand the purpose of tenants' right to counsel, something that 17 cities, four states and one county across the country have already codified. (“Renting in Los Angeles could go from bad to worse”, Opinion, February 13)
Instead, Zuo prefers that the money that would fund tenant counseling go directly into landlords' pockets, a one-sided solution that doesn't work when many landlords reject rental assistance because they would prefer to raise rents.
A 2019 report from the Los Angeles Right to a Lawyer Coalition found that 95% of landlords and only 3% of tenants are represented by attorneys in Los Angeles eviction court, a sure recipe for injustice.
Not all evictions for non-payment are valid. Many are pretextual, procedurally invalid, or the result of uninhabitable conditions. The right to counsel is about access to justice, racial justice, and homelessness prevention, which is why the City and County of Los Angeles is investing in the StayHousedLA tenant assistance program. org.
One thing Zuo got right is the need for good eviction diversion programs, something tenant advocates have been asking the court and city and county officials to discuss for some time. Los Angeles renters need meaningful access to the justice system.
Barbara Schultz, Los Angeles
The writer runs StayHousedLA.org and is director of housing justice at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
