SoCal Landlords Pilloried Online for Asking Too Much Rent

Landlords who seek soaring prices for apartments are getting an online earful about price gouging. It’s called rent shaming.

Would-be renters are showering landlords with salty comments and emoji reactions across Facebook housing groups and other platforms as rents continue to climb across Southern California, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Renters see it as a higher calling, a form of resistance and a way to call out overpriced listings.

“The comment might say ‘BOOOOO’ followed by laughing and poop emojis,” Sam Eckstein, a renter in East Hollywood who has voiced his derision for high-priced rentals online, told the Times.

“What it actually means is, ‘This rent is ridiculous and you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to take advantage of people.’”

Landlords see it as a headache, or cyberbullying of well-meaning efforts to find tenants.

One landlord, who asked to remain anonymous because he doesn’t want to attract negative comments on his listings, said he has experienced rent-shaming but said the criticism is misguided.

“A price might be high for someone but perfectly reasonable for someone else,” the landlord said. “The angry comments just make it harder for the people who actually want the property.”

Last year, he posted in a Facebook group offering a two-bedroom apartment in Glendale for north of $4,000. He received comments claiming it was overpriced, but found a tenant within a week.

“People value different things,” he said. “Every rental isn’t one-size-fits-all.”

The internet has upended the real estate industry, removing traditional gatekeepers and allowing sellers and landlords to connect directly with buyers and tenants.

House-hunters once had to call the phone numbers on “For Rent” signs or hire real estate agents just to see what was available.

But in the age of information, they can compare the prices of everything on the market, according to the Times. It’s much easier to gauge whether something is a steal or a rip-off.

“Your greed is sickening,” a user wrote under a post advertising a one-bedroom rental in Venice for $4,600 a month.

One user told a landlord listing a one-bedroom unit for $2,200 in Woodland Hills to “take your ADU and firmly insert it into your … ”

The comments can shame a landlord or real estate agent for asking a high price. Or they can try to protect unwitting newcomers from overpaying.

“I (recently) signed a lease for a full-size 1br with only slightly less nice appliances within reasonable walking distance to the beach on the west side for less than this,” someone posted under a listing of a 500-square-foot one-bedroom rental in Glendale asking $2,500 a month. “Whoever wants this should negotiate pretty hard.”

In the past decade, apartment rents in greater Los Angeles have nearly doubled. They’re forecast to rise as much as $148 a month in the next few years.

In 2014, the average price for an apartment in L.A. County was $1,471, The Times reported. Currently, the typical rent is $2,796, according to Zillow.

Last year, Los Angeles had 18 of the 100 priciest ZIP codes for renters across the U.S., according to a RentHop study. While Santa Monica and Malibu ranked toward the top, once affordable neighborhoods such as Koreatown and Downtown L.A. ranked among the top 100.

Many rental sites, such as Zillow and Redfin, provide rental history data, so prospective renters can see how much previous tenants paid.

Some users weaponize that information, according to the Times.

“Lil 20% increase in the rent since Feb. Lovely,” someone commented under a Facebook post offering a two-bedroom bungalow in Cypress Park for $2,395 last August.

— Dana Bartholomew