LA County quietly lets postfire rent gouging protections expire as families fear 50% hikes

Los Angeles County has allowed protections against emergency rent gouging tied to the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires to expire.

As first reported by the Los Angeles Times, the protections were originally put in place under Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency order after the January 2025 wildfires. The order capped increases at 10% above pre-fire rents prices.

That rule had been extended several times, but it expired in May after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors failed to approve another extension.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, backed a motion to continue the protections. She warned that renters on short-term leases could soon face steep increases.

"These price gouging protections continue to be necessary as construction and rebuilding continue, and as thousands of people remain displaced," the motion said, as relayed by the LA Times. "Families which signed short-term leases could face drastic price increases of 50% or more without further price gouging protection."

Only Horvath and Supervisor Hilda Solis supported the measure, the LA Times reported. Supervisors Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn, and Holly Mitchell abstained.

County officials have logged more than 2,000 complaints alleging post-fire price gouging.

"Close to 90% of the complaints that we received involved allegations of rent increases," said Morine Merritt of the county's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs in an interview.

However, some officials and landlord groups argued that the emergency rule had outlasted the crisis.

Others worry that the expiration could open the door to much larger jumps in neighborhoods already under pressure from housing shortages and rebuilding delays.

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While the LA Times' analysis of Zillow data found increases near the fire zones were closer to 5% than 50%, advocates say market averages do not capture every case.

One Altadena family has sued, alleging that they were charged close to three times the legal rent for nearly 10 months after their home was damaged.

The county says it issued more than 2,000 cease-and-desist letters over alleged gouging after the fires, according to the LA Times.

Now that the fire-specific protections have ended, renters must rely on existing local rent control rules, state law, and consumer protection enforcement.

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