(NewsNation) — Los Angeles County residents displaced by the deadly wildfires are now contending with another obstacle in trying to find a new place to live: Rising rental prices that, in some cases, are illegal.
Price gouging on rental properties and other necessities such as food and other household items has drawn the attention of the California Attorney General’s Office, which told the media outlet LAist that the state bans price gouging.
Under state law, price gouging occurs when the normal price of an item or service rises by more than 10%. But, the attorney general says that existing laws banning price-gouging haven’t kept some landlords from spiking their rentral price asks.
But in the wake of the wildfires that have displaced tens of thousands of local residents, rental prices around the region have jumped considerably. The New York Times reported that a recent review of rental properties showed increases ranging from 15% to 64%. One listing for a Bel Air home was listed at $29,500 per month, which was previously listed at $15,900.
Los Angeles real estate agent Nikko Santo Pietro told NewsNation on Monday, says that the wildfires have brought out the best and worst of people. The latter includes some landlords charging “astronomical” rents.
“It’s inhumane, it’s not right morally,” he said.
The realtor said the matter is currently a “gray area” as real estate professionals await word from the Department of Real Estate and from Bonda’s office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told the outlet that anyone noticing price gouging should immediately report it to his office’s website.
“If prices look really out of whack — if they look like they’ve increased from what you’re used to — report it to us,” Bonta told the website. “We’ll take it from there. We’ll evaluate it. We’ll hold folks accountable and enforce if necessary.”
Other officials have spoken out to landlords who have spiked the price of their properties.
“This is absolutely unacceptable and illegal to do in the face of this horrible tragedy,” State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin said at a news conference Sunday, according to NBC News.
In California, a database of areas designated as being hit by disasters is available and includes a designation stating that price gouging is illegal in these areas. Among the affected areas are communities ravaged by the wildfires in which at least 26,000 people have applied for disaster relief funds. President Joe Biden announced on Monday that victims of the wildfires will receive a one-time payment of $770 to purchase basic necessities after being displaced.
But the jump in rental costs around Los Angeles County is not exclusive to the wildfires, National Housing Law Project attorney Natalie Maxwell told USA Today.
Maxwell said that her office sees people taking advantage of disasters as a way of an “opportunity to make additional money.”
“We see that over and over,” Maxwell said.
USA Today reported that California Penal Code 396 specifically prohibits landlords from evicting tenants to offer the property up at a higher price to someone else. The law is also the statute that defines price gouging as anything that is more than 10% higher than the normal price. The law went into effect when California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency and covers a range of goods and services.
Yet, with so many people seeking shelter in the wake of the wildfires, The New York Times reports some people won’t allow the price of moving in from doing so.
“There will be a desperation on the part of folks who will need housing, and an opportunity for property owners to take advantage of that,” Rachel Bogardus Drew, senior research director at Enterprise Community Partners, an affordable-housing nonprofit, told The New York Times.
However, landlords who are found guilty of price-gouging face up to a year in jail and fines, Bonta told the BBC.
“This is California law [and] it’s in place to protect those suffering from a tragedy,” Bonta said.
