In California, where the cost of housing outpaces logic, most renters run into a moment where the law feels like a stranger. A rent hike, an early morning knock, a letter folded three times and slipped under the door—all of it adds up to one question: Can landlords do that?
The Law Firm for Tenant Rights, Inc. has spent the past decade helping renters turn panic into clarity. This year, the firm has been nominated as the Best Law Firm in California.
Popal’s firm secured a buyout exceeding $150,000 for a tenant in Los Angeles—placing the result in the top 1% of buyouts citywide, based on available data. The outcome reflects a rare and significant success in tenant advocacy, especially within the highly competitive LA housing market.
In a Berkeley nuisance neighbor case, the firm achieved policy limits for a tenant who had been repeatedly threatened and stalked by a neighbor. The client suffered from PTSD and was in need of mental health treatment. After being turned away by nearly twenty other firms, the client found representation and resolution through Popal’s team, who successfully brought the case to a close.
In another East Bay matter, the firm obtained a $300,000 pre-litigation settlement and secured more than $80,000 in rent waivers for a family with a severely disabled child. Despite living in a non-rent-controlled city, the tenants faced extreme neglect from their landlord, who refused basic repairs and used plastic wrap to hold broken shower tiles in place, attempting to avoid proper mold remediation. The settlement delivered long-overdue relief and accountability.
The tenants who seek their help don’t come looking for loopholes or slick arguments. They come with eviction notices and broken leases. They come because their landlord installed a camera pointed at their front door. Or because their heater hasn’t worked in three months. Or because they’re being charged for fixing a pipe they didn’t break.
The team listens. Then they get to work.
The firm’s founder, Rahman “Ray” Popal, doesn’t fit the mold of the high-rise attorney with a corner office and a country club membership. He’s smart, precise, and unshakably kind. “The goal was never to be big,” Popal says. “The goal was to be the best.”
The best, in this case, means saving someone’s housing. It means helping a grandmother fight off an illegal rent increase. It means telling a tenant that no, their landlord can’t demand 60 days’ notice for a month-to-month lease. It means filing real cases with real stakes and winning them more often than not.
But most of the firm’s work happens before anything reaches court.
They hold workshops in schools, churches, and libraries. They print guides in plain English and distribute them for free. They help people understand what leases say—and what is legal, no matter how it’s worded in a lease contract.
“Most people think the lease is the law,” Popal explains. “But the law sets limits. Just because it’s on paper doesn’t make it legal.”
One of the firm’s most common calls comes from tenants who’ve been told to move out—no reason given, no explanation offered. Often, the landlord says the building is being sold. That sounds final. It isn’t. In many California cities, selling a property does not give a landlord the right to remove tenants with just-cause protections. The firm makes sure people know that. And they stay in the fight until the last paper is signed.
They also deal with privacy issues. Lately, more tenants report that landlords are installing “security” cameras near front doors, patios, and windows. In some cases, the cameras face directly into living rooms or bedrooms. “That’s not about safety,” Popal says. “That’s intimidation.” The firm pushes back—and challenges the law to keep up with modern tech.
Another regular concern: repairs. Landlords are legally required to maintain basic services—heat, water, plumbing, and electricity. But many try to dodge responsibility by shifting the cost onto tenants. A leaking pipe? That’ll be $300. A blown fuse? Pay it yourself. The firm doesn’t let that slide. They show tenants how to document the problem, file complaints, and, when necessary, take legal action.
What about when a tenant wants to move, but the lease says they’ll owe a penalty? That depends. If the unit is in poor condition—no heat, infestations, leaks—it might count as “constructive eviction.” That’s legal shorthand for: This place is unlivable, and the tenant has a right to leave without punishment. Most people don’t know that. The firm makes sure they do.
Then there’s the emotional support animal issue.
Many leases say “no pets,” full stop. But if a therapist or doctor recommends an animal for a medical condition, the law often requires landlords to allow it. Not every tenant knows how to make the request. The firm helps them do it the right way, legally, and respectfully. They also intervene when landlords ignore the law.
“We don’t just hand out advice and walk away,” Popal says. “We stay in the conversation. Sometimes for months.”
That level of commitment sets the firm apart. While other attorneys tally billable hours, this team checks in weeks after a case ends. They ask: Did the repairs get done? Are they still bothering you? Do you feel safe now?
In a world of shortcuts, they take the long road.
None of this comes with much glamour. There are no big paydays, no headlines splashed across national news. But there is a real impact. Hundreds of families have stayed in their homes because of the firm. Dozens of seniors avoided eviction. Students stayed close to school. Tenants who thought they were out of options discovered they had rights after all.
This nomination doesn’t change how the firm works. They’ll still hold Saturday clinics and answer the phone at odd hours. They’ll still show up to court.. But the recognition matters. It tells renters across California that someone’s paying attention—not just to the big law firms with corporate clients, but to the ones doing the slow, steady work that keeps people housed.
The legal system often feels like it speaks its own language. What this firm does—what it’s always done—is translate. It takes the noise and breaks it down into something human. Something hopeful.
In a housing landscape built to confuse and overwhelm, The Law Firm for Tenant Rights, Inc. is doing something quietly radical.
It’s telling the truth.
And making sure that people, no matter their income or background, have the power to stay right where they belong.
