Fire survivors paying exorbitant rents fall deeper into debt, as LA County price-gouging law is extended

About 70% of the fire survivors in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas are unable to move back into their homes, leaving them paying high rents on temporary housing for more than a year, which has tapped out their savings and placed about half into serious debt.

A report released on Tuesday, Feb. 24, from Los Angeles County’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs found 50% of fire survivors were more than $300,000 in debt. Also, 48% have depleted “a significant portion of their savings,” the report stated.

Under the subtitle “Survivors Financially Underwater,” the DCBA found that 63% reported net losses of more than $100,000 and 43% have taken on debt just to survive the loss of their home and find a temporary place to stay during the nearly 14 months since the two devastating fires destroyed about 12,300 homes and displaced about 32,000 people.

“Displaced renters and homeowners alike are pushed into the rental market, where pressure and consumer harm are greatest,” the report stated.

Almost immediately, the rental rates skyrocketed as many landlords took advantage of the need. A 2023 study from the Brookings Institute found that in disaster-impacted areas, “disasters significantly increased rents, lasting for several years,” according to a summary of the study found in county documents.

The DCBA received 1,885 complaints of price-gouging on rental rates and other goods and services, such as air purifiers, since Jan. 7, 2025, the day the fires broke out.

Most of those violations occurred in January, February, March and April, with dramatically fewer complaints in the remaining months of 2025, the report shows.

The state and L.A. County combined to prohibit price increases of rents and other goods and services to no more than 10% increases of the price before the fires, with the county ordinance going into effect in January 2025.

With these limits expiring on Friday, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 24, using its emergency powers, voted to extend the price-gouging protections countywide through March 29. Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstained, and Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, was absent.

“The need to protect our communities from price gouging remains, and so does LA County’s commitment to continuing these essential protections. Fire survivors deserve to rebuild without facing unlawful, excessive increases on rent, building materials, and more related to our recovery efforts,” said Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath in a prepared statement after the vote.

Although the board voted without any discussion of the motion to extend protections brought forward by Horvath, members of the public did voice concerns. Many represented landlords or apartment owner groups and said the rental rate hike limits had gone on for more than a year and should be lifted.

Matthew Buck, vice president of public affairs for the California Apartment Association, said the extension was not needed since it was not supported by the DCBA report.

“There is a softening of the renters’ market,” he added.

Others representing landlords said the number of price-gouging complaints had fallen off since April, signaling no need for extended protections.

The leveling off of complaints was due in part by a county informational blitz to landlords and online aggregators such as Zillow and Redfin, said Rafael Carbajal, DBCA director, in an interview on Tuesday. He also said after 12 months, many looking for housing could no longer afford higher rents and that may have flattened out the market.

However, the number of rent-gouging complaints received by the county continues to increase. Carbajal said his office has received 200 complaints this month alone, a huge spike.

The Rent Brigade, a volunteer group that keeps track of rent hikes in L.A. County, released a report on Jan. 7, 2026, that said 18,360 violations were identified in the year after the fires, yet 10 prosecutorial actions were taken in the entire year.

The county Department of Consumer and Business Affairs relied on cease-and-desist letters and warning notices and not as much on financial recovery for tenants or punishment against rent gougers, the report concluded.

The DCBA report released Tuesday said of the 1,885 complaints it received, only 260 were referred to law enforcement for potential civil or criminal prosecution. Carbajal said all complaints start out as allegations, and they are vetted by the department. Only those that fit the parameters of the ordinance are moved to either a county or city of L.A. prosecutor.

In a Feb. 17 meeting of the board, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said a great many of the 18,360 cases in the group’s report were not technically price gouging since the property owner used a loophole in the law that says tenants with a year or longer lease do not fall into price gouging.

It’s also not price gouging under the county ordinance if the landlord improved the unit, allowing the property owner to increase the rent more than 10%. Also, Hochman said many cases were in the city of Los Angeles, where he does not have jurisdiction.

The DCBA report stated that it has issued more than 2,000 cease-and-desist notices. “Cease-and-desist helps correct violations quickly and prevents escalation,” the report concluded. All together, the Department reported $335,000 in restitution dollars.

The report lists a few major wins.

For example, a large, four-bedroom unit in the First Supervisorial District, which stretches from Eagle Rock and northeast L.A. on the west through the cities in the lower-portion of the San Gabriel Valley, was renting for $13,500 a month. The department was able to give back about $103,891 in restitution to the tenant who was gouged, Carbajal said.

The department also “corrected the price” for an air purifier selling for $259.99 each, marked up from $144.99, the report stated, demonstrating that goods and services needed by those with smoke-damaged homes also rose in price.

The ordinance applies to hotels, motels, all rental housing (including short-term rentals), care facilities, emergency cleanup services, construction and rebuilding, according to the DBCA.

Anyone who suspects price gouging is occurring can report it to the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs at dcba.lacounty.gov/pricegouging or by calling: 1-800-593-8222.