LA County leaders vote to extend housing price-gouging protections for another month

A temporary ban on rent hikes of more than 10% after January’s wildfires will continue for another month in Los Angeles County after elected leaders voted Tuesday to push back a rapidly approaching deadline.

Under an emergency order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March, price gouging limits for rental housing were set to end next week on Tuesday, July 1. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to extend the rent gouging ban until July 31. Supervisor Kathryn Barger was not present for the vote.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced the motion alongside Barger. During Tuesday’s meeting, Horvath said it’s possible the deadline could be pushed back again in the future.

“The county has authority to extend only for 30 days at a time,” Horvath said. “It is certainly my intention, and we’ll find out if it’s the will of the board at a future date, whether to extend beyond 30 days.”

What the rules say

The ban on rent gouging took effect in January, when Newsom declared an emergency stemming from the historically destructive Palisades and Eaton fires. The governor’s declaration made it a criminal offense for anyone to raise prices on housing, food and other essential goods and services by more than 10% from their pre-fire rates.

Within days of the fires breaking out, families displaced from their homes started encountering massive price jumps on listings for rental housing. Tenant advocates began compiling examples of apparent price gouging and said they found more than 1,300 suspicious listings less than a month after the fires.

Prosecutors with the California Attorney General’s Office and the L.A. City Attorney’s Office have so far filed a handful of misdemeanor charges against real estate agents and landlords who allegedly asked prospective tenants to pay far more than what is legally allowed, in one case by more than 50% above pre-fire rents.

County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has yet to file any price gouging charges.

Tenant groups ask, where’s the enforcement?

Tenant advocates say illegal rent hikes have been widespread. Laura Matter — a volunteer with The Rent Brigade, a grassroots price gouging watchdog group — said in May alone, she and her colleagues found about 1,800 online listings that appear to have broken the law.

"It's definitely still happening," Matter said. “There hasn't been any enforcement on the county end of this ordinance yet at all, which is another reason that suggests it needs to be extended."

The county imposes larger financial penalties for rent gouging than the state of California. In January, county leaders voted to increase fines up to $50,000 per violation. The maximum fine under state law is $10,000.