A five-bedroom house in Santa Monica, California, that had been listed the day before for $28,000 a month—more than twice the rent listed a year ago—was the result of Joe Thompson’s urgent post-wildfire search for a new place for his family to reside on Saturday. The agent had already received applications from several persons and was requesting three months’ rent in advance.
Appalled, Thompson and his companion turned away.
Later, 44-year-old trader and investor Thompson stated, “We’re not going to do that.” We’ll simply keep searching.
A wildfire that devastated a large portion of the couple’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles last week forced them to relocate along with their two small children. They are unsure of the amount of the damage and when they will be permitted to return, even though their house was left intact. As a result, they are now among the hundreds looking for accommodation in a city that had a severe shortage prior to the catastrophe.
According to a review of Zillow listings and interviews with real estate agents, housing advocates, and home-seekers, the rush has caused some homeowners and property managers to raise the prices of short-term rentals, including dozens that seem to break a California law that prohibits price increases of more than 10% during a state of emergency.
Authorities have requested that locals notify the state attorney general’s office about instances of gouging.
At a press conference on Sunday, state Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who represents portions of western Los Angeles, stated that this is completely inappropriate and illegal to do in the face of this terrible catastrophe.
A spokesman for the attorney general refused to comment on any allegations, stating that these kinds of inquiries are private.
A common narrative in America is that when a natural disaster strikes, demand for housing exceeds a city’s capacity, resulting in an increase in rents. Some people can afford the increased costs. Many others don’t. According to studies, those who were renting prior to the accident usually bear the brunt of the burden. Additionally, the crunch raises the cost of buying a home.
In Los Angeles County, potential short-term renters are occasionally asked to pay a year’s rent in advance, placed on waiting lists, or engaged in bidding wars.
According to Brock Harris, who owns a real estate firm with his wife, Lori, a group of these homeowners who may have lived in their house for ten, twenty, or thirty years and haven’t dealt with the rental market for decades are going to receive a crash course in the housing scarcity, and it’s not pretty.
For many wildfire victims, whose mortgage payments now only cover modest flats, the pair is working to assist them find rental properties. According to Harris, it is nearly impossible for these people to obtain homes or a comparable price to what they have lost.
More than 40,000 acres have been burned by the flames that ravaged the Los Angeles region last week, destroying over 12,300 buildings and eradicating entire neighborhoods. A number of fires are still burning.
A wide range of housing circumstances are represented among the wildfire victims, including working-class renters who are having financial difficulties, pensioners who have owned their homes for many years, young couples who have just bought a home, and wealthy families who have second homes overseas.
Many now lack permanent houses after fleeing with only a few belongings. While they look for long-term housing, many are dealing with unfathomable loss by sleeping in motels or with friends or family. For those who have nowhere else to go, the state has established makeshift shelters. A local nonprofit organization called 211 LA is collaborating with Airbnb.org, a nonprofit organization separate from Airbnb, to offer victims free temporary lodging.
The Los Angeles Tenants Union, which promotes affordable housing and advocates for renters, has started tracking allegations of rental price gouging, according to Magdaleno Rosales, an organizer with the organization. He claimed to have received over 450 suggestions, with some reporting gains of just over 10% and a dozen claiming rises of 100% or more.
According to him, landlords are acting swiftly in an attempt to capitalize on people’s desperation.
Rosales went on to say that he is concerned about working-class renters being evicted by landlords who see an opportunity to profit.
He said that one of the worst housing and homelessness crises already existed in Los Angeles. Therefore, it appears that things will only get worse in the wake of this catastrophe and these terrible fires.
Many instances of rental increases were found during an NBC News investigation. As the fires spread last week, the prices of a dozen rentals rose, including one listed by listing agent Ofir Malul. The price increases for seven of the properties were higher than the 10% permitted by Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation. In Topanga, the price of a four-bedroom house increased by 24% to $14,300. The price of a three-bedroom house near the famous Hollywood sign jumped up 45% to $14,500.
Malul took a call and at first consented to talk to a reporter after concluding a meeting, but he didn’t return calls or messages. His name had been deleted, and all 12 listings seemed to have been taken down by Sunday night. Later on, he told a reporter via text that the listings weren’t his.
“We believe it is essential for housing providers to follow local housing rules, including consumer protections against price gouging during and after a natural disaster, and we are providing resources to help them understand their responsibilities,” Zillow said in a statement, adding that it had activated “internal systems to flag potential violations so we can assess and take action.”
The image isn’t totally depressing. Stories of compassion and kindness coexist with accusations of price gouging.
Tannis Mann is currently staying with her sister while she and her partner look for temporary accommodation after losing the Pacific Palisades home they purchased in 2023. Mann, a 37-year-old brand manager for a food firm, claimed to have witnessed instances of landlords keeping or reducing pricing.
According to Mann, whenever I discover someone has increased the price while browsing Zillow, I remove them off the list because I don’t want them to be my landlord.
After searching through hundreds of ads online and six in person, Ashley and Tim Polmateer, whose home in the Pacific Palisades community of Marquez Knolls was damaged, have not been able to find a new residence. In the days following the fire, they claimed to have seen ads with $1,000 rent increases.
They expect to locate a place by February 1st, and for the time being, they intend to stay in an Airbnb home until the end of the month with their three young children and 10-week-old golden retriever puppy.
Ashley Polmateer remarked, “At least we’re all together.”
Thompson’s hunt is still ongoing. While they search for a location close to the children’s schools, his family is now lodging in a hotel. He added that on Monday, he looked at a rental that had recently been listed for the same price as before the fires. However, the agent informed him that he was one of seventy individuals on the list.
According to Thompson, people have lost everything. They are pushed to outbid one another and offer a landlord the greatest terms because they are in a state of uncertainty and don’t even know how long they need a house. It’s crazy.