Covid-19 Landlord Letters

If you are facing eviction in LA County, this is your first step in fighting your eviction. Welcome!

There are eviction protections from the Federal government (Center for Disease Control or CDC) and the State of California in place for some tenants during COVID. In order to be protected under these laws, you have to give your landlord a signed document (a “Declaration”) about your situation. Here are some guidelines and resources for these declarations:

  1. We do not recommend that you send your landlord a Declaration under the Federal (CDC) law without talking to a lawyer. To get linked with a lawyer, visit Stay Housed LA.

  2. All tenants should consider sending their landlord a Declaration under the State law.

  3. Have you already received a Summons – Complaint Unlawful Detainer? If yes:

    • This tool can file the Declaration for you along with your answer. Remember, we can only file your papers electronically if (1) you have a Complaint-Unlawful Detainer on a pre-printed official form; and (2) you qualify for a waiver of court fees because of your low income or receipt of certain government benefits.

    • If we cannot file your Declaration with the Court, then you can download and fill out the required forms and file them in court along with your Answer. The forms you need are located here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ud104.pdf and https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ud104a.pdf

  4. If you have NOT yet received a Summons and Complaint-Unlawful Detainer, you should IMMEDIATELY go to stayhousedla.org/tenant_rights for help preparing and sending the declaration.