Tosh Show – "My Eviction Attorney – Niv Davidovich" (January 27, 2026)
Main Theme & Purpose
This episode features Daniel Tosh in conversation with Niv Davidovich, an eviction attorney based in Los Angeles. The episode explores the strange, often absurd world of eviction law in LA, sharing hilarious and sometimes shocking stories from Niv’s career. Tosh and Niv dive into the realities of landlord-tenant disputes, the effects of rent control, wacky tenant and landlord stories, and dispense practical (and impractical) advice on surviving the LA housing game—all with their signature dry humor and irreverence.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Daniel’s Travels, Celebrity Sightings, and Malibu Musings
- Daniel recaps his Pacific Northwest tour and laments his in-laws’ obsession with their phones, joking about putting them “in a home with unlimited data” [03:20].
- Celebrity run-ins in Montecito: Conan O’Brien (lunch), Carol Burnett (dinner), and Drew from Property Brothers [04:56].
- Daniel notes former Vice President Kamala Harris recently became a Malibu neighbor, joking about inviting her to play pickleball or mahjong [06:09].
2. Meet Niv: From Israel to LA’s Wild Legal Scene
- Niv’s name origins: Daniel riffs on "NIV" being short for "New International Version" (the Bible) and suggests "Notorious Niv" as a nickname [10:33].
- Tosh: “If you’re gonna make me pick a version, I’m going Niv always.” [11:17]
- Niv’s background: Born in Israel to Russian-Jewish parents, moved to LA at 4 [11:55].
- Attended Buckley School with celebrity kids (recalls playing ping pong in PE with Tatyana Ali and doing musicals with Rashida Jones) [12:12].
- Discusses heavy parental pressure to be an engineer, lawyer, doctor, or accountant; he managed to hit three out of four [13:14].
3. The (Circuitous) Road to Eviction Law
- Engineering was “atrociously difficult,” contributes to later law school feeling manageable by comparison [13:51].
- “Once you’ve gone through the seventh circle of hell, going to the first or second is like, this is a vacation.” – Niv [16:02]
- Initially aimed for entertainment law (brief songwriting/producing career, including a gold record in Japan) before stumbling into eviction law by demand after going solo [17:10].
- Niv: "For a long time, I was actually a songwriter and music producer… I had a few cuts in Japan and one in Germany, one in England, some in TV shows and movies." [18:00]
4. Eviction Law 101: What Does an Eviction Attorney Actually Do?
- Outlines basic tenant obligations: pay rent, follow lease, don’t be a nuisance, don’t commit crimes [18:31].
- LA’s twist: tenants using apartments for “God knows what”—including adult film production and more [19:06].
- Notable story: Tenants filmed porn in a penthouse and later in the building’s common stairwell after being told to stop, finally resulting in eviction [20:20].
- Daniel: “You were born in Israel, moved to Los Angeles at the age of four. What prompted that move?” Niv: “Mostly my mom putting me on the airplane.” [11:52]
5. Craziest Tenant & Landlord Stories
- Arsonist tenant who set fire to his apartment and tried to firebomb the federal courthouse with unlit Molotov cocktails [21:36].
- “Because he’s not a very good terrorist, he forgot to light the Molotov cocktails.” – Niv [21:36]
- Katana blade-wielding tenant chased maintenance staff, requiring a SWAT raid [22:02].
- Tenant so extreme a hoarder, rats climbed the windows; another filmed in mailroom for sex, meth, and stealing mail (all in different days) [22:23].
- Tenant with 10 automatic weapons threatening neighbors [23:10].
6. LA Eviction Realities: Why It's So Hard
- Compared to most U.S. regions, evictions in LA, NY, and D.C. are unusually complex due to legal structures and strong tenant protections [24:26].
- “The average eviction takes about six months to conclude, man.” - Niv [27:51]
- Free legal defense offered by 16+ nonprofit agencies means most cases drag out—“they’re essentially political activists… like my terrorists.” [25:53]
- Jury trials are stacked against landlords (“statistically… 10 to 12 tenants… majority hate their landlord”) [26:35]—victories often rely on tenants “making themselves unlikable” in court.
7. ChatGPT & The New Age of ‘Pro per’ Tenants
- Increasingly, tenants acting as their own lawyer, using AI like ChatGPT, causes problems (“ChatGPT is the worst lawyer on the face of the planet… just makes stuff up left and right.”) [28:29]
- Niv details incidents where ChatGPT fabricated legal codes or case law, confusing the process and causing judges to “bend over backwards” for self-represented tenants [29:26].
8. The Airbnb/Short-Term Rental Squatting Problem
- Daniel puzzled by stories of Airbnb scammers turning short-term rentals into long-term squats, with police powerless to help [30:17].
- Niv: law requires civil eviction, not law enforcement solutions, even if it’s only been one week. Recalls personal instance of needing to physically push through a trespassing former tenant (after due process) to reclaim a unit [31:47].
- “Once you get in… the police will always tell you it’s a civil matter. Go to court.” [30:32]
9. The LA County Oddity: Why LA Is So Different
- Only in LA County (as opposed to nearby counties like Ventura or Riverside) do these endlessly repeated “psycho tenant” stories occur [34:07].
- Niv: “95% of tenants are… lovely people. The other 5%… I only deal with the psychos.” [34:26]
10. Landlords, Investment, and Rent Control
- Niv strongly advises against residential investment in LA “unless you want to play in the NFL during playoffs. You have to be a professional at it” [36:01].
- Daniel feels conflicted about his own good tenant of 14 years who underpays but is zero hassle [37:01].
- Higher-end tenants = fewer headaches, but also more risk (longer vacancies between tenants) [37:25].
Rent Control Hot Takes
- Niv: “Very, very, very bad… every economic study… found that rent control is the best way to make rents higher.” [38:15]
- Around 15–20 of LA County’s 88 cities have some sort of rent or eviction control [39:03].
- “The People's Republic of Santa Monica does [have tight controls].” – Niv [39:05]
- Pre-pandemic, landlords could buy tenants out for $12–$15,000, but now tenants demand much more, making the old “buy out → renovate → raise rent” model near impossible [40:31].
11. Fixing LA’s Housing Crisis: Niv’s Two-Step Plan
- Abolish rent control.
- Allow much denser construction: “Build however tall you want… without all the restrictions we have now.” [40:39]
- Details the absurdity of endless LA zoning/permitting complications and how “interfering with the economy and interfering with the housing market is what causes disruption in the housing supply.” [47:30]
12. Price Gouging, Fires, & Emergency Declarations
- Talks about “price gouging statutes” triggered by emergency declarations, and how these restrict “market rent”—sometimes forcing high-end units (e.g., $15,000/month) to rent for $5,600 if not previously leased in the prior year [46:14].
- Notes LA County has, for years, maintained sequential states of emergency to allow more governmental flexibility, impacting housing policy [45:15].
13. Work Stress, Home Life & Parenting
- Daniel asks about stress and danger in Niv’s job—stressful, yes; dangerous, not really [47:58].
- Niv says his wife, who works with him, helps mitigate the stress, as does being a person of faith [48:05].
- Niv’s five kids—Daniel jokes it’s the first time he’s heard someone refer to “just five” children [48:40].
- Playful exchange about sibling rivalry, household chaos, and the possibility of ever evicting his own kids [49:31].
14. Humor, Gifts, and Callback Gags
- Daniel gifts Niv his old Mulberry attache, “the first nice thing” his wife bought him, and a soft-top beginner surfboard for his kids [50:22].
- “We need Jewish kids surfing. That’s my thing.” – Daniel [50:34]
- Quips about never being able to evict someone living “rent-free” in your head [51:04].
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If you’re gonna make me pick a version, I’m going Niv always.” – Daniel Tosh [11:17]
- “Once you’ve gone through the seventh circle of hell, going to the first or second is like this is a vacation.” – Niv Davidovich [16:02]
- Tosh, on LA’s eviction process: “That’s a half year of free rent, guys, is all I’m hearing.” [27:55]
- “ChatGPT is the worst lawyer on the face of the planet. ChatGPT just makes stuff up left and right.” – Niv [28:29]
- “95% of tenants are absolutely lovely people… the other 5% are psychos, and I only deal with the psychos.” – Niv [34:26]
- “Being a landlord in LA is like playing in the NFL during playoffs. You have to be a professional at it.” – Niv [36:01]
- “Rent control is the best way to make rents higher. It temporarily controls rent for that particular person, but overall it causes rent to increase.” – Niv [38:15]
- “She stood in front of the doorway and I pushed right through her… just went with my shoulder.” – Niv, on forcibly evicting a trespasser for a client [33:38]
- Daniel, gifting a surfboard: “We need Jewish kids surfing. That’s my thing.” [50:34]
- “Even I can’t evict those people [living rent-free in your head].” – Niv [51:12]
Important Timestamps
- 03:20 – Daniel’s gripes about screen-addicted in-laws during Whistler trip
- 04:56 – Celebrity sightings recap
- 10:11 – Introduction of Niv Davidovich, eviction attorney
- 11:17 – Name riff: “Notorious Niv” and “NIV version” jokes
- 13:14 – Russian-Jewish parental expectations
- 16:02 – Surviving engineering to make law school feel “like a vacation”
- 17:10 – Niv’s brief songwriting/producing career in Japan
- 18:31 – What is an eviction attorney? LA’s wildest cases begin
- 19:06 – Crazy tenant stories start (porn productions, hoarding, weapons, etc.)
- 24:26 – Why LA is unique for evictions: “not impossible, but very hard”
- 27:51 – “The average eviction takes about six months”
- 28:29 – Pitfalls of tenants using ChatGPT as a lawyer
- 30:17 – The Airbnb squatter crisis explained
- 33:01 – The physical eviction story
- 34:07 – Why LA County is “a magnet” for outrageous cases
- 36:01 – Investment risk: “like playing in the NFL...”
- 38:15 – Niv on rent control making rents higher
- 40:39 – Niv’s ideas for rapid housing reform
- 47:30 – How government interference makes housing worse
- 51:03 – Parting gifts & final jokes
- 51:12 – “Even I can’t evict those people (from your head).”
- 54:01 – Daniel’s real-life story of evicting exes (playful closing banter)
Tone & Language
- Daniel Tosh’s humor is on full display—sarcastic, playful, often pushing the envelope with dark or caustic asides.
- Niv matches with understated wit, self-deprecation, and matter-of-fact delivery of outrageous legal tales.
- The episode is brisk, comedic, and layered with insider-y references and LA/Cali-specific nods.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
Expect a rapid-fire, funny, and illuminating look into LA's housing (and eviction) circus, peppered with wild case stories, legal tidbits, and Daniel Tosh’s inimitable banter. The episode gives an honest look at the absurdity of eviction law in Los Angeles, highlighting both the human drama and the structural madness—making you laugh while you thank your lucky stars you’re not on either end of an LA County eviction.