California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Thursday his office is actively investigating and preparing criminal charges against landlords, real estate agents and other businesses suspected of raising rents and prices by more than 10% in the wake of the Los Angeles fires.
“Folks across the region are being preyed upon by greedy businesses and landlords, scam artists and predatory buyers looking to make a quick buck off their pain,” Bonta said. “They are seeking to re-victimize the victims of the fires — to exploit them in their vulnerable state.”
Rent increases of more than 10% from pre-fire levels violate California’s prohibition on price gouging, which was triggered by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration of a state of emergency around the historically destructive fires in L.A. County.
Families who lost homes have sent LAist examples of listings with asking rents that spiked dramatically after thousands of evacuees were suddenly forced to seek housing in a brutally expensive market. L.A. tenant rights advocates have also collected hundreds of examples of suspected price gouging in a spreadsheet to track post-fire rent hikes of more than 10%.
New task force, website and hotline
In response to widespread reports of rent gouging, Bonta said his office has established a new disaster relief task force focused on bringing charges against alleged price gougers. He said his team is working on more than 10 active investigations, with new cases being added daily.
“We will prosecute where laws have been broken,” Bonta said. “We have boots on the ground conducting investigations as we speak, building the criminal cases against price…
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