California’s top prosecutor says he’s building cases against price-gouging landlords

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 gougers. And we will continue to pursue those cases and others and prosecute to the full extent of the law.”

The attorney general’s office has set up a new website where Angelenos can report examples of apparent price gouging: oag.ca.gov/lafires. The office also has a new hotline to handle complaints at (800) 952-5225.

How you can help prepare a case

Bonta said if you spot instances of rental housing price gouging, save the real estate agent or landlord’s name and contact information, take screenshots of the listing’s price history, save your text messages and copy links to send to prosecutors.

Price gouging in the wake of a disaster is a misdemeanor under state law. Anyone found guilty of violating the law could face up to one year in jail or a $10,000 fine.

Bonta commended Airbnb for implementing tools to remind hosts of the law and send error messages when hosts attempt to raise rates by more than 10% on the platform.

“They’re doing the right thing,” Bonta said. “I thank them for doing that. We hope other platforms will follow suit and do the same.”