LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – In the wake of the deadly fires in Los Angeles County earlier this month, the board of supervisors on Tuesday tackled housing issues as protestors at the meeting made their demands known.
During the meeting, which was interrupted at points by activists with tenants’ unions who are concerned about evictions and demanding a rent freeze, voted unanimously to pass special safety provisions and relief measures in the rental market.
County leaders said they wanted to ensure that tenants with family members impacted by the fires could welcome them into their homes along with any pets they may have.
Short-term rental restrictions were also eased by the board of supervisors, which is expected to help provide more temporary housing for those impacted by the wildfires.
“We find in these situations that it’s all hands on deck,” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “I know one of my family members opened up part of their home to people who were displaced in Altadena. We have to make sure that we are as flexible as possible, recognizing that these people are desperate. Many of them do have animals and that should not preclude them from being able to stay with a loved one.”
Since the Eaton and Palisades fires, both of which erupted on Jan. 7, destroyed nearly 14,000 structures, claimed the lives of at least 28 people and displaced thousands of others, price-gouging landlords have been a constant concern for leaders.
In a press conference last week, newly elected L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman did not hold back when speaking about landlords trying to exploit victims of the wildfires.
“The price gouging is particularly despicable because these are people who are looking at this situation and asking how [they can] make the most amount of money from people desperately seeking housing, supplies and services because they’ve lost everything,” Hochman remarked. “I will tell you, with respect to this price gouging, we have seen people increase their prices for rooms [or] houses they are leasing by 100, 200 and 300 percent.”
During the current state of emergency in L.A. County, landlords are prohibited from increasing rents by more than 10% above previously advertised rates.
There are, however, gray areas like bidding wars. If a renter comes in with an offer higher than 10% of the previously advertised rate, that’s not necessarily considered price gouging experts say.
