Evidence of Post-Wildfire Rent Gouging Leads to Few Lawsuits

The extent to which landlords across Los Angeles took advantage of the wildfire tragedy last year is the subject of a report attempting to quantify the narrative.

When the blazes displaced thousands of residents in and around Pacific Palisades and Altadena, landlords hiked up rental prices across Los Angeles County despite calls from officials to crack down on price going, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing data from Rent Brigade.

The tenant advocacy group analyzed Zillow listings in the year after the fires and found 18,360 potential instances of rent hikes exceeding 10 percent, potentially violating the anti-gouging rules signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 7, 2025, the day the fires broke out.

City and state authorities have filed only 12 lawsuits so far, even though officials vowed widespread enforcement. The legislation is in effect until Feb. 27.

A Beverly Grove condo’s listing price was hiked from $5,000 to $8,000 per month in the week after the fire, in one example. A property in Venice listed for 60 percent above its previous price, while the advertised rent price for a home in Santa Monica increased more than 100 percent.

“I was shocked by how many clear, unavoidable cases of price gouging there were,” Philip Meyer, a co-author of the Rent Brigade report, told the outlet. “A lot of folks didn’t seem to think there’d be any accountability, so they were breaking the law in plain view.”

Of the “illegal listings,” 42 percent were in L.A. County’s Third District, which includes Pacific Palisades, as well as surrounding communities where many fire victims tried to relocate such as Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice and Calabasas.

The report claims that as much as $49 million in excess rent may have been collected over the past year. The actual number is likely much lower because the $49 million figure assumes that all 18,360 listings ended up being rented at the advertised price. The number of “illegal listings” could also be slightly lower as Zillow listings don’t provide information on actual leases signed.

L.A. County raised the price-gouging penalty to $50,000 from $10,000 a year ago, and the L.A. City Council increased the maximum penalty to $30,000. In July, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors allowed the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to bypass the district attorney and directly fine price gougers, making it easier to go after landlords breaking the law.

The California Department of Justice’s Disaster Relief Task Force, sent 753 warning letters to hotels and landlords who were accused of price gouging. State Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office has filed five price-gouging lawsuits against individual landlords. L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office has filed seven price-gouging lawsuits against individual landlords as well as housing companies like Blueground and Airbnb. L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman hasn’t prosecuted a single price-gouging case, acknowledging the work of city and state legal officials.

All 12 cases are currently pending or awaiting trial.

— Chris Malone Méndez