Rampant Post-fire Price Gouging Went Unpunished, Report Alleges

When nan Palisades and Eaton fires displaced thousands of tenants past year, landlords crossed L.A. jacked up rental prices while nan flames were still burning. Officials were speedy to respond, vowing crackdowns connected value gouging.

A caller report asserts that galore of those threats were toothless.

Published by activistic statement nan Rent Brigade, nan study analyzed L.A. County’s rental marketplace successful nan twelvemonth aft nan fires. It recovered 18,360 imaginable examples of value gouging successful listings, but only 12 lawsuits revenge truthful far.

Gov. Gavin Newsom put price-gouging rules into effect connected Jan. 7, nan time of nan fires. They’ve been successful spot successful L.A. County ever since, and they’re presently extended done Feb. 27, 2026. The protections prohibit landlords from raising rents by much than 10%, but galore seemed undeterred by nan rules.

In nan week aft nan fires, 1 supplier told The Times that their landlord customer said they “doubt it’ll beryllium prosecuted,” ordering nan supplier to raise nan value much than 10%. A Beverly Grove condo jumped from $5,000 to $8,000. A spot successful Venice listed for 60% more. A Santa Monica location sewage a value bump of much than 100%.

“I was shocked by really galore clear, unavoidable cases of value gouging location were,” said Philip Meyer, a unpaid pinch nan Rent Brigade who co-authored nan report. “A batch of folks didn’t look to deliberation there’d beryllium immoderate accountability, truthful they were breaking nan rule successful plain view.”

Meyer helped creation a search strategy that scrapes information from Zillow to observe value hikes greater than 10%. He said value gouging predictably skyrocketed successful nan period aft nan fires, but past it continued each twelvemonth agelong arsenic enforcement lagged.

“I’m not judge if group realized that price-gouging laws are still successful effect,” he said.

Illegal listings were scattered crossed nan Southland, but nan study said that 42% were recovered successful L.A. County’s 3rd District, which covers Pacific Palisades, arsenic good arsenic nan surrounding communities wherever galore occurrence victims tried to relocate, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice and Calabasas.

Last year, nan Rent Brigade launched a run to pass tenants that they whitethorn person been victims of value gouging. Using nan Zillow data, they sent retired 2,000 postcards to addresses tied to fishy listings detailing their rights; Meyer said nan extremity was to thief tenants interaction authorities for enforcement.

The study claims that arsenic overmuch arsenic $49 cardinal successful excess rent whitethorn person been collected complete nan past year, an estimate recovered by totaling up each nan asking prices supra nan ineligible limit. However, nan existent number is apt importantly lower, since nan $49-million people assumes each 18,360 forbidden listings were rented astatine nan advertised price.

It’s besides apt that nan 18,360 number is somewhat lower, since information pulled from Zillow listings don’t supply accusation connected existent leases signed — and don’t ever supply nan afloat picture.

For example, a Zillow listing could show a erstwhile asking value of $1,500 for a location past year, and an asking value of $6,000 a twelvemonth later, which would registry arsenic a 300% increase. However, nan $1,500 asking value could’ve been for a azygous room successful nan home, not nan full location — successful which lawsuit nan $6,000 wouldn’t beryllium considered value gouging.

However, it’s clear that thousands of landlords tried to return advantage of accrued request created by nan fires, which is why officials astatine nan state, region and metropolis levels each vowed crackdowns.

There person been plentifulness of legislative efforts to thief enforce specified a crackdown. In February, L.A. County raised nan price-gouging penalty from $10,000 to $50,000, and nan L.A. City Council raised nan maximum penalty to $30,000. In July, nan L.A. County Board of Supervisors made it easier to punish landlords by allowing nan Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to bypass nan territory lawyer and straight good value gougers.

Other laws were proposed, but fizzled out. A authorities law sought to raise nan maximum good for price-gouging and grow protections to hotels and different services, but it died successful nan Senate Appropriations Committee. Another authorities law sought to require listing platforms to region listings suspected of value gouging, but it was vetoed by Newsom successful October.

Spokespeople for nan city, region and authorities offices that woody pinch value gouging responded to nan report’s claims that they weren’t doing enough.

“As portion of our department’s activity to protect Californians pursuing nan fires, California DOJ formed a Disaster Relief Task Force, sent 753 informing letters to hotels and landlords who were accused of value gouging, and revenge criminal charges against six defendants, including Los Angeles existent property agents and a landlord,” said California Department of Justice spokesperson Elissa Perez, who useful pinch authorities Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. “These are cases wherever nan provable facts supported charges.”

The study claims that L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, who issued beardown statements condemning value gouging, hasn’t prosecuted a azygous price-gouging case. A connection from his agency acknowledged that nary cases person been filed, but pointed to collaborations pinch nan metropolis and state, which person some revenge price-gouging lawsuits.

City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto’s agency has revenge 7 price-gouging lawsuits — 3 civil, 4 criminal — ranging from individual landlords to lodging companies specified arsenic Blueground and Airbnb. Bonta’s agency has revenge five, each against individual landlords. All 12 cases are presently pending aliases awaiting trial.

Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for Feldstein Soto’s office, called nan study inaccurate; nan study claimed nan agency investigated only 1,100 cases but it really investigated thousands more, which were included successful its lawsuits against Airbnb and Blueground. He besides questioned nan report’s methodology, adding that relying exclusively connected Zillow listings tin beryllium misleading and propose value gouging that’s not really happening since it only shows advertised rents, not existent leases.

Pine added that enforcement efforts are ongoing and that each cases revenge activity restitution of hundreds aliases thousands of dollars paid to victims.