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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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For well-heeled Californian renters with a budget of $30,000 a month to disburse, a seven-bedroom property in suburban Brentwood, Los Angeles, may have once appealed.
In December, the three-story property, boasting a heated pool, sauna and a wine cellar, was available on property website Zillow for $29,999 a month.
On January 9, the property became even more aspirational when the price-per-month rent increased by $10,000 to $39,999 a month, an increase of 33.3 percent.
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The property is one of many that Newsweek has found to have jacked up their prices recently, raising concerns of potential price gouging in the state during the Southern California wildfires as Los Angeles authorities revealed to Newsweek they were investigating hundreds of complaints.
Newsweek reached out to the real estate agent renting the property for comment.
Price gouging, which California law defines as sellers trying to take "unfair advantage of consumers during an emergency or disaster by greatly increasing prices for essential consumer goods and services," is illegal in the state and refers to price increases of more than 10 percent.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing that laws "prohibiting price gouging in times of emergency" remain in effect until January 7, 2026, in Los Angeles County because of the fires.
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Nevertheless, the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) told Newsweek that since January 7, it had received over 260 complaints about potential price gouging. DCBA did not provide specific examples of listings it was investigating.
Newsweek has also accessed a crowdsourced spreadsheet that lists 1396 potential instances of suspected price gouging in Los Angeles. Newsweek was unable to verify every example on the list, which was organized by housing campaigner Chelsea Kirk with a team of 40 volunteers, but has also independently found other properties that appear to show price gouging.
One two-bedroom rental property in Sherman Oaks, California, was listed on Zillow at $3,990 monthly on December 24, 2024. But on January 11, 2025, the price increased by 25.1 percent to $4,990.
Another two-bedroom rental around 20 miles south of Sherman Oaks in Marina Del Rey was listed for rent on Zillow on January 9, 2025, for $6,250 a month. Two days later, the price increased to $7,000 a month, an increase of 12 percent.
A source who spoke to Newsweek on condition of anonymity said they had criticized an Airbnb host for allegedly increasing their prices when the wildfires broke out. They said that after complaining, the host decreased their listing to just under the 10 percent threshold.
Authorities have ramped up their commitment to stopping price gouging. On Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned in a press conference that people engaging in price gouging are breaking the law. "You cannot do it," he said. "It is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and fines."
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned against "anyone taking advantage of anyone who's been victimized already, whether it is burglary looting, or any other crime, whether it's a scam of some kind that you're conjuring up to make money off of the poor people that have been involved in this."
He said authorities would prosecute anyone who tries to "take advantage of the people who have been through this tragedy."
Meanwhile, the fires prevail. Evacuation orders have been issued in San Diego County as two new wildfires ignited in Southern California on Tuesday. The Palisades fire and the Eaton fire that ignited on January 7 have killed at least 27 people.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice told Newsweek: "Our office strongly encourages anyone who has experienced price gouging to file a complaint at oag.ca.gov/report." They could not confirm whether it had received complaints or the number of complaints.
A Zillow spokesperson told Newsweek: "Zillow takes the responsibility consumers place on us to promote fair renting practices seriously - and even more so during times of crisis. As devastating fires in the Los Angeles area continue, we're taking action to help address price gouging on rental listings in the affected areas that appear on our platform. This includes activating our internal systems to flag potential violations so we can assess and take action.
"If renters see a potential violation, we encourage them to report the listing to Zillow and California authorities. We believe it is essential for housing providers to follow local housing rules, including consumer protections against price gouging during and following a natural disaster, and we are providing resources to help them understand their responsibilities."
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