Los Angeles Landlords are trying to squeeze fire victims

Amid reports that some Los Angeles rental price listings have been exponentially hiked since the fires began, officials are threatening to prosecute “anyone who thinks they’re going to take advantage of the people who have been through this tragedy,” LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said on Sunday. **“It’s called price gouging. It is illegal. You cannot do it,”** California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at another press conference over the weekend. His office has seen some “businesses and landlords … [jack up](https://links.morningbrew.com/c/u4t?mblid=45c2834865cf&mbcid=38182578.1017024&mid=a7e6dd1c6fb9699c8d58d71c1237c192&mbuuid=241R8adFrFtwmKp1XXspvofN) the price,” of rent in the past week, he said, even though California’s anti-price gouging laws make it illegal for landlords to raise rent by more than 10% in the first 30 to 180 days after a disaster is declared. **“[The laws] are just being ignored right now,”** _Selling Sunset_’s star realtor Jason Oppenheim [told](https://links.morningbrew.com/c/u4u?mblid=19c2fcd14488&mbcid=38182578.1017024&mid=a7e6dd1c6fb9699c8d58d71c1237c192&mbuuid=241R8adFrFtwmKp1XXspvofN) the BBC, saying an Oppenheim Group client who lost their home in the fires found a rental property that was previously priced at $13,000/month—they offered $20,000/month, and the landlord countered with $23,000 (a ~75% hike). It’s not the only example: - A Bel Air home located in an evacuation warning zone was [listed](https://links.morningbrew.com/c/u4v?mblid=48f1d967d620&mbcid=38182578.1017024&mid=a7e6dd1c6fb9699c8d58d71c1237c192&mbuuid=241R8adFrFtwmKp1XXspvofN) on Zillow this weekend at $29,500/month—an 86% hike from its September 2024 price, according to LAist. - Another realtor raised an Encino listing from $9,000/month as of Jan. 3 to $11,500 after the fires started, according to the LA Times. The realtor then backpedaled to abide by the 10% rule, which she said she didn’t know about. **For context:** Los Angeles rent was already high, averaging $2,820/month compared to $1,983/month nationally, according to Zillow. **To help residents,** this weekend CA Governor Gavin Newsom extended the state’s disaster-triggered price gouging law to last through January 2026 for LA County and suspended some environmentally-friendly construction rules for wildfire victims. The [road to rebuilding](https://links.morningbrew.com/c/u4w?mblid=2f0da0e0dfc8&mbcid=38182578.1017024&mid=a7e6dd1c6fb9699c8d58d71c1237c192&mbuuid=241R8adFrFtwmKp1XXspvofN) is expected to cost $50–$150 billion._—ML_ facebook-letter-logo x-logo linkedin-logo pinterest-logo [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapfreg.com%2Flos-angeles-landlords-are-trying-to-squeeze-fire-victims%2F) [X](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapfreg.com%2Flos-angeles-landlords-are-trying-to-squeeze-fire-victims%2F&text=Los+Angeles+Landlords+are+trying+to+squeeze+fire+victims) [Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapfreg.com%2Flos-angeles-landlords-are-trying-to-squeeze-fire-victims%2F) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapfreg.com%2Flos-angeles-landlords-are-trying-to-squeeze-fire-victims%2F&title=Los+Angeles+Landlords+are+trying+to+squeeze+fire+victims&summary=Amid+reports+that+some+Los+Angeles+rental+price+listings+have+been+exponentially+hiked+since+the+fires+began%2C+officials+are+threatening+to+prosecute+%E2%80%9Canyone+who+thinks+they%E2%80%99re+going+to+take+advantage+of+the+people+who+have+been+through+this+tragedy%2C%E2%80%9D+LA+County+Sheriff+Robert+Luna+said+on+Sunday.+%E2%80%9CIt%E2%80%99s+called+price+gouging.+It+is+illegal.+You+%5B%E2%80%A6%5D)