Tracking rental price gouging in LA and pushing for accountability following fires

LOS ANGELES - Chelsea Kirk is a tenant advocate and co-founder of the Rent Brigade. She says there has been a massive increase in rent gouging during the month of January when the wildfires broke out and displaced thousands throughout the Los Angeles area. Her advocacy group has assembled documents and spreadsheets showing what they say is proof of rent gouging. Despite action being taken by the California Attorney General’s office and commitment from other agencies, like the Los Angeles District Attorney and Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Kirk says this only represents a small fraction of rent gougers actively occurring in our area. 

FOX 11 reached out to agencies overseeing rent gouging in our area, here are the responses we received:

Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office:

The LA City Attorney’s Office is enforcing CA Penal Code section 396 - the "Anti-Gouging Law" - which is triggered automatically upon the declaration of a state of emergency during a natural disaster. To date, we have filed one criminal case against a private homeowner and one civil enforcement action against the property rental platform, Blueground, alleging price gouging. We have issued nearly 400 cease and desist letters to owners, landlords and property management companies based on reports of price gouging received.

In all, we are reviewing more than 1,000 referrals, including several on Ms. Kirk’s list, and appreciate her bringing these potential violations to our attention. We encourage Angelenos to file price gouging complaints online by calling 311 or using this form: https://cityoflaprod.service-now.com/pgc

California Attorney General’s Office:

We share the public’s strong concerns regarding price gouging in the wake of the Los Angeles fires. Earlier today, we announced the filing of new charges against a Southern California real estate agent and a landlord for price gouging a victim who was evacuated due to the Eaton Fire.

We continue to urge victims of price gouging – either current or prospective tenants – to share their stories directly with local authorities like the LA City Attorney or LA District Attorney, or our office by visiting oag.ca.gov/LAfires or calling our hotline at (800) 952-5225.  

Los Angeles County Attorney’s Office:

Price gouging is reprehensible conduct in which criminals prey on disaster victims by illegally raising the price of goods and services essential to survival, such as food, water, medical supplies, and housing. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is working closely with our partners in local and federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute wildfire-related crimes, including price gouging. The Office’s clear and unequivocal message to price gougers is that they will not get away with taking advantage of wildfire victims and they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. 

While we appreciate community advocates calling attention to this serious issue, we encourage individuals to report instances of suspected price gouging to local law enforcement where the crime occurred or the victim resides so the matter can be thoroughly investigated by the proper authorities and presented to our office for case filing consideration.

Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs

We are aware of the spreadsheet compiled by Chelsea Kirk and are investigating the price gouging allegations it contains. Rafael Carbajal, Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), personally met with Ms. Kirk to acknowledge her work and reaffirm our commitment to investigating all reported cases of price gouging.

DCBA has the authority to investigate price-gouging cases, issue subpoenas, and refer cases to law enforcement. In partnership with county counsel, we can also impose civil penalties ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. The specific penalty within this range depends on the totality of the circumstances, including the egregiousness of the violation, the unwillingness of the offender to address or remediate the issue, and whether the offender is a repeat violator. Our strategies allow us to assess each instance of violation comprehensively, which supports our decision-making process in enforcing these penalties.

The backstory:

The price gouging statute, Penal Code section 396, generally prohibits raising the price of lodging and rental housing "to an existing or prospective tenant" after an emergency is declared by more than 10 percent of the previously charged price. Put differently, in order to bring price gouging charges, it’s important that existing or prospective tenants come forward.

We also reached out to Zillow. Listings there were used to compile data from Kirk. This was their response:

• The Zillow Rentals team takes price gouging seriously. We’re monitoring rental listings and Southern California and are removing listings that we find violate the law.
• Many landlords in the area continue to do the right thing and are providing housing at typical rates. Our focus remains on the few bad actors who are taking advantage of the ongoing crisis.
• We’ve educated the housing providers who advertise on our platform about their responsibilities during a state of emergency with blog posts and emails.
• We added a banner to rental listings in Los Angeles and Ventura County that links to a resource for renters to learn more about the state of emergency rules currently in place and how they impact housing.

Take a look at the spreadsheet Kirk helped put together showing what she and her organization calls rent gouging. 

Go to rentbrigade.org for information on rent gouging.