Newbie needs help😭:Eviction Lawyer needed for a property in the City of Los Angeles

[Joyce Kim]

My tenant has not been paying rent for four months now and refuses to vacate.

I've posted and mailed 3-day notices, and uploaded them to the LAHD website four times already. I finally received a demand letter from a "nonprofit attorney" representing the tenant, claiming that the tenant was living in uninhabitable conditions—typical for a non-paying tenant, I guess—and now she wants to "renegotiate" the rent and keep living in the same space.

She has been filing complaints with various government departments, but all the cases were minor and have been closed. I've personally communicated with the inspectors, and they are aware of how the tenant is trying to manipulate the situation. Fortunately, all three inspectors (from different departments) were very supportive and one inspector even stated they will not return, even if another complaint is filed.

I want to offer a cash-for-keys option, but since the tenant's attorney is from a nonprofit, I feel she will fight for her tenant to stay. I need to respond to the attorney's demand letter and almost want to go to court, even if it takes six months to evict her. I think I have a good case, but it's really hard to find an attorney to take it nowadays—all the good ones are fully booked and hard to reach.

Any suggestions or recommendations on how to approach this issue would be greatly appreciated, as I am a new landlord. Additionally, if you have any referrals to good eviction lawyers who can take my case, I would be very grateful.

Thank you so much for your help.

[Joyce Kim]

Quote from @David C.:

Quote from @Joyce Kim:

I've reached out to the office about 2 hours ago, but no one answered the phone. I left my number but haven't received a call back yet. I guess I have to wait till they call me back. 

So far, I've received quotes ranging from $3k to $5k plus an hourly rate for court appearances. I'm willing to pay for the service as I urgently need an attorney's help, but it seems like lawyers are not taking new cases easily. They keep charging me for consultations without taking the case. 😭

Do you have an estimate of their charges for this type of case and whether they are affordable? If exact figures aren't available, could you let me know if they charge a fixed fee per case, hourly, or per court appearance?

Thank you!

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.

I'm in their concierge service so get in a little faster.

Not sure what affordable is since every case is different.  From a cost perspective imo it's most cost efficient to find somebody with a lot of evection experience in your area.

You might try Stelnick Law in Valencia .  They did a good job for us in a difficult eviction.  They practice in los angeles even though they are in Valencia.

 Thanks for your referral! Currently Stelnick Law is working on my case and it's going really well. :)