Tenant Eviction Defense

What Tenant Eviction Defense does

Tenant Eviction Defense is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity incorporated in California and headquartered at 610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 250, Newport Beach. The organization's stated mission is to provide education and procedural resources to California tenants facing unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuits, bridging what it characterizes as an information-access gap that causes 'thousands' of renters each year to lose housing for failure to assert available defenses. Services are delivered free of charge and explicitly exclude legal representation or legal advice.

The service offering is a unified suite of tenant-advocacy products: (1) document preparation and electronic filing of Court Fee Waivers, Strategic Motions (Demurrer or Quash), and Unlawful Detainer Answers with local Southern California courthouses; (2) procedural guidance on deadlines, judicial council forms, and county-specific procedures; (3) personalized telephone support via the Eviction Defense Rapid Response Line at (657) 510-6534, M-F 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; (4) in-person appointments at the Newport Beach office; (5) Landlord-Tenant Law and Eviction Procedure group workshops via Zoom; (6) a Tenants Rights Library of online articles; and (7) printed distribution of The Tenant's Unlawful Detainer Procedural Guidebook at civil courthouses across Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. There is no proprietary technology platform; the underlying infrastructure consists of Squarespace website hosting, Square for donation processing, Google Analytics 4, Google Ads (under the Google Ad Grant), and Express Network for court e-filing.

The business model is donation-funded philanthropy. As a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-3105953), the organization generates no fee revenue from tenants, charges no prices for services, and operates under a Candid Gold Seal of Transparency 2026. The go-to-market motion is community-led, combining content marketing (Tenants Rights Library), Google Ad Grant visibility, Zoom-based community workshops, and direct phone-based rapid response. Customers are exclusively individual California tenants who have received or are at risk of receiving an Unlawful Detainer Summons; there is no B2B segment. Executive Director Garrett Saunders leads the organization.

Name

Tenant Eviction Defense

Legal name

Tenant Eviction Defense

Website

https://tenantevictiondefense.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tenant Eviction Defense is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free eviction-defense document preparation, procedural guidance, and tenant-rights education to renters facing unlawful detainer lawsuits across five Southern California counties. Services are delivered via phone, in-person appointments, Zoom workshops, and courthouse-distributed publications, funded entirely by charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tenant Legal Assistance Services

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Lease Administration & Tenant Services (BPAJAFAL)

Keywords

• Eviction defense services
• Tenant rights education
• Unlawful detainer response
• Document preparation services
• Nonprofit legal assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, Tenant Eviction Defense is funded entirely through charitable donations. The organization provides services free of charge to tenants facing eviction. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tenant Eviction Defense is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that provides free document preparation services (Court Fee Waivers, Strategic Motions such as Motion for Demurrer or Motion to Quash, Unlawful Detainer Answers, and electronic filing with local courthouses), procedural guidance on California unlawful detainer procedures, and educational resources to California tenants facing eviction. Services are delivered through a rapid response phone line, in-person appointments at the Newport Beach office, Zoom workshops, and a comprehensive Tenants Rights Library serving five Southern California counties. The organization does not provide legal representation or legal advice.

Product overview

Tenant Eviction Defense is a nonprofit organization offering a unified suite of tenant advocacy services focused on helping California tenants defend against eviction lawsuits. The core offerings include: Document Preparation Services (court fee waivers, strategic motions, Unlawful Detainer Answer preparation, and electronic filing); Educational Publications (Tenants Rights Library with comprehensive articles and The Tenant's Unlawful Detainer Procedural Guidebook distributed at courthouses); Landlord Tenant Law and Eviction Procedure Group Workshops via Zoom; Personalized Telephone Support via the Eviction Defense Rapid Response Line; In-Person Appointments at their Newport Beach office; and County-Specific Eviction Defense Resources covering Southern California courts. The organization does not provide legal representation or legal advice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Document Preparation Services Preparation and filing of legal documents with Southern California courts on behalf of tenants facing unlawful detainer lawsuits, including Court Fee Waivers, Strategic Motions (Motion for Demurrer or Motion to Quash), Unlawful Detainer Answers, and electronic filing through an e-filing service provider. Intended for California tenants served with an Unlawful Detainer Summons.
• County-Specific Eviction Defense Resources County-specific information about unlawful detainer procedures, courthouse locations, local court rules, and tenant protection ordinances for Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County. Designed for tenants needing to navigate county-level eviction procedures.
• Educational Publications and Community Outreach Informational publications and educational materials related to California landlord-tenant law and the unlawful detainer process, including a comprehensive Tenants Rights Library covering all stages of the eviction process. Targeted at California renters needing accessible legal information.
• Landlord Tenant Law and Eviction Procedure Group Workshops via Zoom Live virtual workshops conducted via Zoom for tenants throughout Southern California who want to better understand their rights and options regarding landlord-tenant law and eviction procedures. Free group-format education.
• The Tenant's Unlawful Detainer Procedural Guidebook and Reference A printed guidebook and reference published and distributed at civil division courthouses throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County for tenants needing procedural guidance on responding to an unlawful detainer action.
• Personalized Telephone Support (Eviction Defense Rapid Response Line) Confidential telephone support via the Eviction Defense Rapid Response Line at (657) 510-6534, available Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., providing personalized guidance on tenant rights and options for individual California tenants facing eviction.
• In-Person Appointments In-person consultations available by appointment only at the Newport Beach office location (610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 250) for tenants who prefer face-to-face assistance with their eviction matter.
• Procedural Guidance Assistance helping tenants understand the steps involved in responding to an unlawful detainer lawsuit, including deadlines, judicial council forms, and county-specific procedures across Southern California.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Google (via Google Ad Grant)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecipient of Google Ad Grant which supports nonprofit marketing efforts to reach tenants searching for eviction defense information online. Google uses cookies to serve ads based on prior visits to the website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Public Law Center: Orange County-based nonprofit providing free legal services including housing/eviction defense. Directly competes for Orange County tenants facing eviction and for donor mindshare in the same geography.
• Bet Tzedek Legal Services: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing free legal services including housing preservation and eviction defense. Comparable mission and service orientation to Tenant Eviction Defense.
• Inner City Law Center: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing free legal services to low-income tenants including eviction defense. Overlaps with Tenant Eviction Defense's LA County service area and shares the nonprofit tenant-advocacy mission.
• Legal Aid Society of San Diego: San Diego County's primary legal aid nonprofit providing housing/eviction defense services. Directly overlaps with Tenant Eviction Defense's San Diego County service area.
• Inland Counties Legal Services: Provides free legal aid including eviction defense across Riverside and San Bernardino counties — two of Tenant Eviction Defense's five service counties. Comparable nonprofit model with similar mission.
• Eviction Defense Collaborative: San Francisco-based nonprofit providing free full-scope legal representation and defense for tenants facing eviction. Comparable mission and service model, though operating in a different SoCal geography (Bay Area vs. SoCal).
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: Provides free legal services to low-income LA County residents, including eviction defense and unlawful detainer representation. Overlaps directly with Tenant Eviction Defense's LA County service territory but offers full-scope attorney representation.

Emerging players

• LawHelpCA: California statewide legal aid referral and self-help information platform connecting low-income residents to free legal services including eviction defense. Complementary rather than directly competitive, but overlaps on tenant information delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Nolo: Established consumer legal information publisher offering books, online articles, and self-help legal content including landlord-tenant and eviction topics. Comparable information-delivery function but as a commercial publisher rather than nonprofit.

Regional players

• Stay Housed LA: LA County initiative providing free eviction-defense services and tenant rights education. Directly overlaps with Tenant Eviction Defense's LA County service footprint and shares the document-preparation and education model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Tenant Eviction Defense