In the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles, rents for a two-bedroom condo rose from $5,000 to $8,000. fires Thousands have been made homeless since last week.
In Venice, a single-family home has risen by almost 60%. In Santa Monica, one owner listed a five-bedroom home last year for $15,000 above their asking price — a gain of more than 100%.
As there are temporary inflation protections fire Such dramatic rent increases should be stopped, but a Times review of online listings this week indicates that illegal increases are relatively common. Such listings, condemned on social media, have started an uproar, causing some landlords to reverse course and calls for authorities to prosecute those who profit from pain.
“They need to move quickly and make an example out of these people,” said Larry Cross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a local tenant rights group.
Even some landlord organizations are joining the chorus.
“Throw the book at them,” Fred Sutton, senior vice president of the California Apartment Assn., told the LA City Council on Tuesday.
of California Price escalation rules Following declared states of emergency, they will last for 30 days unless extended. In a local fire, that is, landlords generally cannot charge more than 10% of what they charged or advertised before January 7.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonda has alerted property owners and the public Rules He promised strict action against violators.
Ponta's office would not disclose the number of price-fixing complaints received. But Ponta has enlisted teams of lawyers from his offices across the state to evaluate the submissions, a spokeswoman for the agency said.
“It's important that the victims of this fire are treated with respect and dignity and fairness,” Ponta said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Saturday. “Price gouging is illegal. We will not stand for that.”
If convicted, landlords face up to a year in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. But the matter has rarely been litigated since previous major wildfires, and some tenant advocates say the price hike is so high now that people want to avoid it.
In 2018, the Attorney General's Office brought only two lawsuits against landlords and real estate agents for illegal price gouging following the fires that destroyed thousands of homes in Northern California. Following complaints from lawyers and local prosecutors that the law was too difficult to enforce, state legislators expanded it later that year.
At the urging of a Los Angeles City Council member Tracey ParkThe city moved Tuesday to increase potential price-gouging fines to $30,000 and ensure resources are available to investigate and prosecute cases.
In a way, modern technology makes it easier than ever to track potential breaches.
As the fire continues to burn, tenant advocates and everyday people scour rental listing websites and compile shareable databases of suspected fakes, sharing them with authorities and the press and social media.
Organizer Chelsea Kirk, who oversees a spreadsheet, said the practice appears “widespread and widespread” And people vent their anger directly to landlords and agents.
“People call me and say, 'I make it my hobby today to call every person on this list and tell them what they're doing is illegal,'” said Kirk, policy director of the nonprofit Strategic Action for Justice. economy.
So far, it seems to be working. Many listings have been removed or listed for 10% or less.
Chad Singer, a real estate agent with Amalfi Estates, said part of the problem is a lack of knowledge about the rules among landlords.
“The people I studied changed it immediately when they realized it was illegal,” Singer said.
Still, there are problems. Singer said leases have already been signed at inflated prices, which increases the likelihood of lawsuits from signed tenants. have also been Bidding wars occur outside the scope of any formal list.
One man told The Times his brother-in-law showed up at a rental open house near Brentwood, and the listing agent asked him to fill out a form with his best offer.
“We think it's still happening in the shadows,” said Anya Lawler, policy attorney for the California Rural Legal Aid Foundation, noting that such cases can be difficult to prosecute.
He also worries that after the initial slowdown subsides, price increases will pick up again. “We're not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
Some real estate companies are taking action where they can.
Popular real estate listing website Zillow allows visitors to see the history of rent changes on listings featured in social media posts.
Company spokeswoman Emily MacDonald said Zillow has begun using its “internal systems” to detect potential violations and remove listings “with price increases that exceed the emergency status.”
“Zillow takes the responsibility that consumers have on us to promote fair rental practices — and even more so in times of crisis,” McDonald said. “If renters see a potential violation, we encourage them to report the listing to Zillow and California authorities.”
In all, the fires in Los Angeles County have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures, creating a wave of newly homeless families in a region already experiencing an affordable housing crisis.
Not only is there a fear of rising prices, but there is also a general ripple effect of higher costs, as relatively well-off displaced homeowners seek housing in different neighborhoods, where rents are already high and existing residents feel pressure to leave.
An immediate uptick in spending is expected, but pressures on the housing market should ease as rebuilding efforts pick up, said Christopher Thornberg, partner at Beacon Economics. After the devastating wildfires in Napa and Sonoma counties in 2017, rental vacancy rates fell and prices increased. But those effects are temporary, he said.
“It faded after a year, and then it trended back,” Thornberg said.
However, given the extent of the destruction in L.A. County, rebuilding efforts will take more than a year, and the region is already struggling to allow enough new housing to meet demand.
State and local landlord industry representatives understand that the region is in a middle ground Crisis Property owners are being encouraged to offer discounts to residents affected by wildfires.
Apartment Assistant. Greater Los Angeles Created a website Landlords must advertise short and long term rentals.
The groups are educating their members about price-gouging laws and asking third-party listservs to post warnings. Deb Carlton, executive vice president of the California Apartment Assn., said the widespread fraudulent reports are “crazy” and advocates for tougher enforcement of the law.
“The landlords are absolutely horrified,” Carlton said.
But some of them think differently.
A real estate agent told his client, “A 10% cap is not realistic given how much demand there is in the market.” According to the agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely, the landlord ordered the Santa Monica listing's rent to increase beyond the allowable limit, ignoring the agent's warning about the law.
“They doubt it will be prosecuted.”