Over 12,000 homes were destroyed during the Los Angeles wildfires in January, and some unscrupulous property owners tried to profit from the crisis. Redditors on r/LandlordLove, a satirical subreddit that pokes fun at landlords, expressed their disgust at the price-gouging that occurred in the aftermath.
The post shared images of huge increases in rent, as some property owners were asking for almost twice their previous rates. Unsurprisingly, the comments did not show a great deal of love toward landlords.
"I wish i believed in hell, because i hope something terrible happens to these miserable excuses for people," one commenter said in what was actually one of the milder posts.
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Definitely 🙁 Another pointed out that the property owners were almost certainly breaking the law, writing, "The law forbids businesses from raising prices on essential goods and services, including hotel rooms, rental housing, and emergency supplies, by more than 10 percent during an emergency."
The poster was referring to California's anti-price-gouging law. Penal Code Section 396 prohibits raising the price of many consumer goods and services by more than 10% after an emergency has been declared. A state of emergency was declared Jan. 7.
The thread raises a key point about the power differential between landlord and tenant and the importance of awareness of laws. This goes beyond massive rent increases, too. Tenants who wish to adopt eco-friendly lifestyle changes in the homes they rent have more power than they might realize.
Similarly, homeowners can push back against homeowners associations that try to block environmentally friendly changes they wish to make to their property. This comprehensive guide shows the different paths that can be taken.
As another Redditor noted, one of the biggest issues was the mindset of trying to take advantage of a terrible situation. "These people see all the horror of people being burned out of their homes and losing everything they own and all they think is, How can I make money off of this?" they said.
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