A program to guarantee Santa Monica renters legal representation would cost up to $1 million per year, officials said.

The City Council voted last week to develop an ordinance that would provide free legal counsel to tenants faced with eviction. Councilmember Sue Himmelrich said Tuesday that she and Mayor Kevin McKeown introduced the proposal after learning that Pico Lanai Apartments, a 174-unit complex in Santa Monica’s rapidly gentrifying Pico neighborhood, had been sold for $59 million to investment firm Pacific Reach Properties.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/universal-legal-representation-for-renters-would-cost-up-to-1-million/184016