LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a motion Wednesday instructing its Department of Housing to create recommendations for the establishment of a right to counsel ordinance and program for tenants facing eviction in the city.

The motion, presented by Councilwoman Nithya Raman and several of her colleagues, further asks several city departments to report back within 60 days with a detailed cost assessment, staffing needs and a prospective year-by-year spending plan for the implementation of the program.

“The motion would not have been possible without the funding that will come from Measure ULA and that really came from the people who put that measure together, and the people of Los Angeles who voted for it,” Raman said.

“I think what we can do with a right to counsel and all these new protections that we’ve passed in this council, is to take away a little bit of that precarity to make life in Los Angeles a little easier, a little calmer and a little more peaceful,” she continued.

The motion asks the Department of Housing to consider several recommendations including, but not limited to, coverage for tenants at 80% of the area median income or below who live in the city, and full legal representation for any judicial or administrative proceedings to evict or terminate the tenancy or housing subsidy of a covered individual.

Max Sherman, who represents the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said the overwhelming majority of evictions are due to nonpayment of rent.

“If the city wants to stop evictions, the focus should be instead on direct rental subsidies that are owed by renters that can provide financial assistance to those renters, so then no eviction proceeds are needed and no attorney is needed by either party,” Sherman said.

Sherman also said Measure ULA, a tax on the sale of properties worth more than $5 million with the aim of reducing homelessness and protecting low-income seniors, is being used as a justification for the council’s motion. However, he said the council offered no explanation for why the motion was being fast-tracked.

Pablo Estupiñan, campaign director of LA’s Right to Counsel Campaign and a member of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, said multiple members of the Los Angeles Right to Counsel coalition showed up to support the motion, which he called “a step forward.”

“... We hope that it’ll demonstrate that the right to counsel actually saves the city money in a cost-effective solution to preventing people from becoming homeless,” Estupiñan said.

According to Estupiñan, tenants’ right to counsel has passed in 18 other cities and jurisdictions, which see a reduction in eviction cases filed.

“If you tell the city, do you want to save money and stop homelessness, then the right to counsel is the answer,” Estupiñan said.

Cynthia Gonzalez, a tenant in Council District 14, spoke in favor of the motion.

“I’ve seen firsthand and experienced the many different evictions right now,” she said. “There are not enough attorneys present to be able to take the amount of cases of people getting evicted in LA If LA is really here to commit to end homelessness and keep people housed, we need to pass this ordinance.”

The council will receive an update on the establishment of an ordinance at a future meeting.

“There’s no doubt that our city is in the midst of homelessness and housing crisis,” said Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who co-presented the motion. “It’s time that we ensure that every tenant facing eviction has legal representation, not just those who have the wealth and resources to afford it.”