Los Angeles City Council members are poised to vote Tuesday on roughly $177 million in fast-tracked contracts, funneling taxpayer cash to a tight circle of powerful tenant-advocacy nonprofits — including groups that have repeatedly sued the city.
The package, championed by lefty mayoral hopeful Councilmember Nithya Raman, would lock in three-year deals financed largely by Measure ULA’s mansion-tax revenue. The money will primarily be used to run tenant eviction defense and homelessness-prevention programs.
Earlier this month, Raman’s Housing and Homelessness Committee signed off on the plan, clearing the way for final council approval of contracts with four dominant players in LA’s tenant-advocacy ecosystem: the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), Liberty Hill Foundation and the Southern California Housing Rights Center.
Together, the organizations form the backbone of the city’s “Stay Housed LA” network — a powerful alliance that provides legal defense, rental assistance and tenant organizing across Los Angeles while wielding significant influence at City Hall.
The same groups are also widely known for their aggressive street activism, organizing protests, demonstrations and rent strikes, and for filing high-profile lawsuits against the city over homelessness sweeps, policing and housing policies.
Hellbound and Down 