"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."
"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."
Wildfires on Jan. 7, 2025 displaced thousands in and around Pacific Palisades and Altadena, prompting widespread rent increases across Los Angeles County. Rent Brigade, a tenant advocacy group, analyzed Zillow listings in the year after the fires and identified 18,360 potential rent hikes exceeding 10 percent, potentially violating emergency anti-gouging rules. City and state authorities filed only 12 lawsuits despite vows of enforcement, and the emergency legislation remains in effect until Feb. 27. Notable examples include a Beverly Grove condo jumping from $5,000 to $8,000, a Venice listing 60 percent above prior price, and a Santa Monica rent increase over 100 percent. The group estimated up to $49 million in excess rent collected, though that figure likely overstates actual collections because it assumes all flagged listings were rented at advertised prices and Zillow data have limitations.
Read at therealdeal.com
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