Fires in Los Angeles have destroyed thousands of homes, leaving families scrambling for long-term shelter in the face of uncertainty. Real estate listing websites such as Zillow have shown many properties taken off the market during the fires, only to be put back on the market for thousands more than they were originally listed for. 

“It’s called price gouging,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “It is illegal. You cannot do it. It is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and fines.”

For example, one Zillow listing for a furnished home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the Pacific Palisades, was posted Saturday at $29,500 per month, which is nearly an 86% price hike from September 2024, according to the listing’s price history, which shows the home previously listed for $15,900 per month.

According to a New York Times review of Zillow listings on Los Angeles’s Westside, asking rents have risen between 15% and 64% since last Tuesday when the fires began. 

After a reporter with the Los Angeles Times asked why the asking rent of one Encino home had risen from $9,000 to $11,500 per month, nearly 28% since the fires began, the agent took the listing down. Listing agent Soheila Mirfakhrai said the price was then lowered to $9,800 per month, just below the 10% threshold, after speaking with the outlet.

It’s not just large, family homes that have seen this trend. A 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom in Woodland Hills was listed for $3,900 per month in November. After the fires, it’s now listed for $5,900.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) declared a state of emergency in connection with the Palisades fire, which includes a ban on price gouging. According to the state, price gouging is any price increase of more than 10% compared to pre-disaster prices. Experts have warned that leasing agents and landlords hike prices in times of disaster as demand for rental properties sharply increases.

“This is absolutely unacceptable and illegal to do in the face of this horrible tragedy,” state Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, representing parts of western Los Angeles, said at a news conference Sunday.

Jason Oppenheim, a real estate agent of the popular Netflix show Selling Sunset, told the BBC he sent a client to a listing where the landlord was previously asking for $13,000 per month before increasing the rent by $10,000 on the spot. 

“[My client] offered $20,000 a month, and he offered to pay six months upfront, and the landlord said ‘I want $23,000’,” Oppenheim said. “There are price gouging laws in California, they’re just being ignored right now, and this isn’t the time to be taking advantage of situations.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, whose office has arrested nearly a dozen people on charges of looting evacuated homes, also warned that landlords or real estate agents who “take advantage” of disaster to increase prices will face prosecution.

“Whether it’s people renting rooms, whether it’s people selling services, selling goods, you get to raise the rent by 10%. If you raise it above 10%, you are guilty of price gouging. You will be prosecuted by the district attorney’s office. You could be sued civilly,” Hochman said.

“And for all those internet scammers out there, please understand that we will absolutely go after you. Your conduct is as despicable as if you were effectively as looting,” Hochman added.

Officials in California are urging those who witness price gouging to report the malpractice.

“If prices look really out of whack — if they look like they’ve increased from what you’re used to — report it to us,” Bonta told KCAL News. “We’ll take it from there. We’ll evaluate it. We’ll hold folks accountable and enforce if necessary.”

“Call @MyLA311 to report illegally hiked rents and prices,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass posted on social media. “We have no tolerance for it.”