The board of supervisors discussed housing issues Tuesday as demonstrators voiced their demands in the aftermath of the fatal fires that occurred in Los Angeles County earlier this month.
The meeting unanimously decided to enact extra safety protections and relief measures in the rental market, despite being interrupted at times by activists from renters’ unions who are worried about evictions and are calling for a rent freeze.
According to county officials, they wanted to make sure that renters who had family members affected by the fires could bring them and their pets into their houses.
The board of supervisors also loosened regulations on short-term rentals, which should assist provide more temporary accommodation for people affected by the wildfires.
“We find in these situations that it’s all hands on deck,” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger stated. “I know one of my family members opened up part of their home to people who were displaced in Altadena. We have to make sure that we are as flexible as possible, recognizing that these people are desperate. Many of them do have animals and that should not preclude them from being able to stay with a loved one.”
After the Eaton and Palisades fires, which broke out on January 7 and resulted in the destruction of over 14,000 structures, the deaths of at least 28 people, and the displacement of hundreds of others, officials have been worried about landlords who are taking advantage of the situation by charging exorbitant prices.
Nathan Hochman, the recently elected District Attorney of Los Angeles County, did not hold back when he spoke at a press conference last week about landlords who are trying to take advantage of the victims of the wildfires.
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“The price gouging is particularly despicable because these are people who are looking at this situation and asking how [they can] make the most amount of money from people desperately seeking housing, supplies and services because they’ve lost everything,” Hochman stated. “I will tell you, with respect to this price gouging, we have seen people increase their prices for rooms [or] houses they are leasing by 100, 200 and 300 percent.”
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While the state of emergency is in effect in Los Angeles County, landlords are not allowed to raise rents by more than 10% above the prices that were previously published.
However, there are some situations, such as bidding wars, that are not so clear-cut. According to experts, if a renter comes in with an offer that is more than 10% greater than the previously posted rate, that does not automatically mean that the price is being gouged.
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