--- title: "Greedy Landlords Are Massively Price-Gouging Rents After LA Wildfires" description: "As Angelenos look to rebuild and recoup in the wake of the region's devastating wildfires, landlords are taking advantage of their misery. " date: "2025-01-17" modified: "2025-01-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/landlords-price-gouging-la" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "landlords" - "los angeles" - "the digest" - "wildfires" --- # Greedy Landlords Are Massively Price-Gouging Rents After LA Wildfires ![As Angelenos look to rebuild and recoup in the wake of the region's devastating wildfires, landlords are taking advantage of their misery. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## City of Shamegels As Angelenos look to rebuild in the wake of the region's devastating wildfires, landlords are taking advantage of their misery. As the [*Los Angeles Times*]() and [other outlets report](), landlords are hiking prices tens of thousands of dollars — or 100 percent more than what they were asking in 2024 — even though officials have [placed temporary restrictions]() on price-gouging in the wake of the fires. Things are so bad that even the luxury real estate mogul at the center of the Netflix reality show "Selling Sunset" is calling out his fellow landlords. In an [interview with the *BBC*](), real estate mogul Jason Oppenheim said he encountered the illegal price gouging when one of his well-heeled clients went to go see a property that had previously been listed at $13,000 a month. "\[My client\] offered $20,000 a month and he offered to pay six months upfront," Oppenheim told the British broadcaster, "and the landlord said 'I want $23,000.'" "There are price gouging laws in California, they're just being ignored right now," he continued. "This isn't the time to be taking advantage of situations." ## Handling It While Oppenheim's rich clients can no doubt afford to find shelter elsewhere, the more than [40,000 acres and 12,000 structures destroyed]() extend far beyond the city's ritziest homes in the Pacific Palisades. The [historic Black community in Altadena](), an unincorporated town located outside of Pasadena, was hit particularly hard by the Eaton fire that took place in the San Gabriel Valley region. Many of the families whose homes were destroyed in the fires are now seeking new shelter — and unlike their wealthy counterparts to the west in Malibu and Brentwood, they can't afford to pay an arm and a leg. As the city of angels reels from its latest wildfires, activists are sharing spreadsheets of [allegedly price-gouged properties](), complete with the contact information for the landlords that own them. "Landlords are taking advantage of this moment," tenant organizer and list creator [Chelsea Kirk told *In These Times*](). "They're exploiting this moment." While residents deal with this particularly heinous brand of landlord thuggishness, California's attorney general is pledging to hold them accountable. As [*LAist* reports](), the Golden State's top cop, Rob Bonta, has created a task force to handle price gouging in the aftermath of the fires. "We have boots on the ground conducting investigations as we speak, building the criminal cases against price gougers," Bonta said during a press conference. "And we will continue to pursue those cases and others and prosecute to the full extent of the law." The AG's office has also [launched a website]() and hotline to report alleged price gouging — a sign, if nothing else, that California is taking this disgusting trend seriously. **More on the LA wildfires:** [*Grimes Defends Elon Musk While Fleeing Fire He's Blaming on Woke*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()