Visual by Jakub Zerdzicki

Staying Housed — Letters to the Housed | Paul Asplund

Letters to the Housed · June 2026

Staying
Housed

A four-part series on eviction, displacement, and the community infrastructure keeping LA families in their homes — when the system tries to move them out.

Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA


Units Announced
~1,200+

Housing units publicly announced in LA County so far in 2026.

Units Opened
~367

Housing units actually opened and available to residents.

The Gap

The distance between what's promised and what's built is where people get lost. This tracker updates weekly.

Data: LA County, 2026 YTD. Additional indicators — evictions filed, sweeps, families affected — forthcoming.


Most people don't know that a 3-day notice is not an eviction. Predatory landlords do.

Most people don't know that a divorce, a medical crisis, or a job loss can trigger a legal cascade that moves faster than any family can respond to it. The system knows that, too.

"The system uses confusion as a weapon. Self-eviction is exactly what the landlord wants."

Staying Housed names what's happening, maps the resources that exist, and makes the case for the community-controlled housing infrastructure that is — right now, across LA County — quietly closing the gap the federal system is leaving behind.


The Four-Part Series

Publishing every Tuesday in June 2026 · Letters to the Housed on Substack

Article 1 of 4

When the Notice Arrives

What a 3-day notice actually means — and what to do when one lands at your door.

Article 2 of 4

Housing Is Fragile

How crisis becomes homelessness — and what catches you before you fall.

Article 3 of 4

Swept Away

What happens to your things — and your life — when encampment sweeps arrive.

Article 4 of 4

Building the Net

Alternative models for funding housing that actually works — and what community-controlled finance looks like in practice.


  • StayHousedLA.org — Free legal help for renters facing eviction. Call (888) 694-0040. $107M City Council contract approved March 2026.
  • Housing Rights Center — Tenant Power Toolkit and eviction resource page. housingrightscenter.org
  • LAFLA Eviction Defense Center — Legal representation for low-income tenants. lafla.org
  • Inner City Law Center — Serves people experiencing homelessness and those at risk. innercitylaw.org
  • BASTA — Tenant organizing and legal services. bastala.org

2026 Tenant Law Update

As of 2026, all LA rental units have just-cause eviction protections. Landlords must declare cause from a designated list.

RSO annual rent increases are capped at 3% through June 2027.

AB 863 now requires eviction summons in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean.

Letters to the Housed

Every week, Paul Asplund tracks what's happening to renters, unhoused residents, and the communities trying to hold LA together. Free. Every Tuesday.