Eviction Defense Center

What Eviction Defense Center does

The Eviction Defense Center (EDC) is a non-profit law corporation founded in 1996 and headquartered at 350 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 703, Oakland, California. It provides free and low-cost legal services to low-income tenants facing eviction in Alameda County, the City of Richmond, and the City of Berkeley. EDC's core offering is full eviction defense representation from the beginning of litigation through settlement or trial, a service scope that distinguishes it from agencies limited to brief advice or consultation. It also processes Rental Assistance Applications on behalf of the City of Berkeley. EDC reports serving over 2,000 clients annually, with disabled tenants representing over 70% of cases and households with young children representing over 60%, and it explicitly prioritizes vulnerable populations including the elderly, catastrophically ill, single caregivers, veterans, domestic violence survivors, and recent immigrants.

ECDC's service portfolio is organized geographically: Berkeley Tenant Legal Services (substandard housing, subsidized housing, rent increases, fair housing, and rental assistance), Alameda County Tenant Legal Services (full eviction litigation through trial), Richmond Tenant Legal Services (housing matters including eviction defense), and the umbrella Eviction Court Representation product line. There is no proprietary technology platform; the organization operates as a direct human-services nonprofit, with a bilingual English/Spanish front end and a Squarespace-hosted website. No APIs, integrations, AI modalities, or product modules are disclosed in the source material.

The business model is donor- and grant-funded rather than fee-for-service. Services are delivered free to income-eligible tenants or on a sliding scale for those above the free threshold. The organization was seeded by six private-practice attorneys who each donated one day per week of pro bono time plus a portion of private-practice income, and ongoing funding flows from charitable contributions, pro bono legal services, and formal service agreements with the Cities of Oakland, Richmond, and Berkeley and Alameda County. Go-to-market is community-led: outreach through courts, tenant organizing in substandard properties, city-government referrals, and word-of-mouth from prior clients, rather than traditional paid marketing channels.

Name

Eviction Defense Center

Legal name

Eviction Defense Center

Website

https://evictiondefensecenteroakland.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Non-profit law corporation founded in 1996 in Oakland, California, providing free and low-cost full eviction defense representation through trial to over 2,000 low-income tenants annually across Alameda County, Richmond, and Berkeley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Pro Bono Contributions: Founded in 1996 by six attorneys in private practice who donated one day per week of their time to work pro bono and contributed a portion of their private practice income to fund the organization. This model suggests reliance on charitable contributions and volunteer legal services.
2. Sliding Scale Fee Structure: Services are provided free or at low cost based on a sliding scale determined by income level. The organization serves low-income tenants who cannot afford private attorneys.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Eviction Defense Center is a non-profit law corporation that provides free and low-cost legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction in Alameda County, the City of Richmond, and the City of Berkeley. Its core offering is full eviction defense representation from the beginning of litigation through settlement or trial, supplemented by rental assistance application processing for the City of Berkeley and advocacy on substandard housing conditions.

Product overview

The Eviction Defense Center offers a unified suite of free and low-cost tenant legal services, primarily serving low-income residents in Alameda County, the City of Richmond, and the City of Berkeley. The core offering consists of eviction defense representation, including full court representation from litigation initiation through trial or settlement. For Berkeley residents, the Center additionally handles Rental Assistance Applications. Services are provided on a sliding scale based on income level. The organization focuses on vulnerable populations including disabled tenants, elderly tenants, catastrophically ill tenants, single caregivers with young children, veterans, domestic violence survivors, and recent immigrants. No separate product modules or platform architecture were identified; the organization functions as a direct service nonprofit providing legal assistance rather than a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Berkeley Tenant Legal Services Free legal services provided to Berkeley residents covering substandard housing conditions, subsidized housing, rent increases, fair housing matters, and eviction defense. Also handles Rental Assistance Applications for the City of Berkeley.
• Alameda County Tenant Legal Services Free and low-cost legal services provided to Alameda County tenants facing eviction, including court representation through trial for those served with a Summons & Complaint for Unlawful Detainer.
• Richmond Tenant Legal Services Free and low-cost legal services provided to Richmond residents covering substandard housing conditions, subsidized housing, rent increases, fair housing matters, and eviction defense.
• Eviction Court Representation Full litigation representation from beginning of case through settlement or trial, serving over 2,000 clients annually. The organization is one of the few agencies offering representation in court through trial to indigent tenants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 2000 clients each year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• City of BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Eviction Defense Center is officially designated to handle Rental Assistance Applications for the City of Berkeley. This partnership allows the organization to process rental assistance on behalf of the city government.
• City of OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with the City of Oakland to fight for repairs of substandard rental properties. The organization organizes tenants in slum properties and works with the city on housing code enforcement.
• City of RichmondcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal agreement to provide free and low-cost legal services to Richmond residents on housing matters including eviction defense, substandard housing conditions, subsidized housing, and fair housing matters.
• Alameda CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal agreement to provide free legal services to tenants facing eviction in Alameda County.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• East Bay Community Law Center: EBCLC is a non-profit legal services provider based in Berkeley serving low-income East Bay residents, with housing/eviction defense as a core practice area. Overlaps directly with EDC's Alameda County tenant defense work.
• Law Foundation of Silicon Valley: Law Foundation provides free legal aid to low-income Santa Clara County residents, including housing and eviction defense. Comparable non-profit legal services model serving a different Northern California county.
• Bay Area Legal Aid: Bay Area Legal Aid is a non-profit providing free civil legal services to low-income residents across multiple Bay Area counties, including housing/eviction defense. It is the most direct comparator given overlapping Bay Area service area and full-scope tenant representation model.
• Inner City Law Center: Inner City Law Center is a Los Angeles-based non-profit providing free legal services focused on homelessness prevention and housing stability. Highly comparable mission and full-scope tenant representation approach.
• Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County: Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County delivers free civil legal services including tenant defense to low-income San Mateo residents. Comparable mission, funding model, and service structure to EDC.
• Volunteer Legal Services Program (San Francisco): VLSP coordinates pro bono legal services for low-income San Francisco residents, including housing/eviction matters. Comparable pro bono-driven model to the EDC's founding approach, operating in an adjacent Bay Area jurisdiction.

Regional players

• Public Interest Law Project: PILP is a California-based non-profit providing impact litigation and support to legal aid organizations including in housing/eviction matters. Related advocacy orientation but operates at state/regional level rather than as a direct tenant-defense provider.

Broad incumbents

• National Housing Law Project: NHLP is a national non-profit focused on housing rights for low-income tenants, providing training and support to legal aid programs including eviction defense providers. Adjacent enabling organization serving similar client population through a different delivery model.
• California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation: CRLA Foundation is a statewide California non-profit providing free legal services to low-income rural communities, including housing matters. Comparable legal aid model but operates statewide with rural focus rather than Bay Area urban focus.

Emerging players

• Mental Health Advocacy Services: MHAS provides free legal services to people with mental health disabilities in Los Angeles, including housing defense. Comparable disability-tenant overlap given EDC's 70%+ disabled-tenant caseload, though operating in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eviction-defense-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eviction Defense Center