JOSH EDELSON/AFP
Los Angeles residents are banning together to defy landlords price gouging properties to desperate renters while wildfires continue raging across the city.
The document, created by the LA Tenants Union, lives in a Google Sheet and currently has more than 400 entries, outlining property addresses, prices before and after the wildfires, links to the listing and the listing agent’s contact information.
Some of the most egregious price gouging examples, according to the document, include a rental home in Glendale that went from $8,500 to $19,500 a month, a 56% increase, a Santa Monica home that increased from $19,800 to $35,000, a 43% increase, and a Los Angeles unit that increased from $4,300 to a whopping $44,000, an egregious 90% increase.
Social media users have been encouraging one another to share examples of price gouging and to report it to Los Angeles County.
As noted in an X post from LA Tenants Union, California’s Penal Code 396 prohibits price-gouging during a state of emergency, which Gov. Gavin Newsom declared on Jan. 7. Landlords found guilty of violating the law face up to a year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
The deadly wildfires, which have killed at least 24 people and displaced thousands as of Tuesday, has yet to be contained as firefighters continue battling heavy winds, CBS News reported.
Originally published by Latin Times
