As deadly wildfires continue to tear through the Los Angeles, leaving neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades in ruins, survivors now face a second disaster: greedy landlords shamelessly inflating housing prices. For Maya Lieberman, a 50-year-old stylist whose home was devoured by flames, finding a place to stay has become a nightmare. “The price gouging is going haywire, it’s obscene,” Lieberman said, echoing the frustration of thousands displaced by the inferno.
The fires, raging since Tuesday, have already claimed 16 lives and forced over 150,000 people to evacuate. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ash, and even those fortunate enough to have their homes spared are under strict evacuation orders. Pacific Palisades, once a luxurious haven for celebrities like Billy Crystal and Kate Beckinsale, now stands as fierce reminder reminder that even wealth can’t shield anyone from nature’s fury. But while residents mourn their losses, opportunistic landlords and property owners are licking their lips at the chance to profit off their suffering. Corruption is everything, dear Nigerians let’s sleep well with this information.
Lieberman’s story is just one of many. “We put in an application at a house that was listed at $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn’t pay $30,000, we weren’t going to get it,” she revealed. Landlords didn’t stop there. Lieberman claims they smugly told her others were “ready to offer more and pay cash”.
It’s not just rental homes. Hotel rooms have also become part of this profit-hungry game. TV producer Alex Smith shared how his friends, after fleeing the fires, were slapped with higher prices upon arriving at hotels outside Los Angeles. The situation is so out of control that even California Attorney General Rob Bonta had to step in, reminding everyone that price gouging is illegal. “We will not stand for it. We will hold you accountable. We will prosecute,” Bonta warned, emphasizing that violators could face up to a year in jail.
Under California law, once a state of emergency is declared, as it has been due to these relentless wildfires, businesses are forbidden from raising prices by more than 10%. This applies to everything from hotel rooms to essential goods. Yet, it seems landlords and businesses are conveniently “forgetting” the law, hiding behind the excuse of supply and demand. Bonta was very serious with his words: “If those algorithms lead to prices higher after the declaration of emergency than before, by more than 10 percent, you’re violating the law.”
But for some victims, the law offers little comfort. Brian, a 69-year-old retiree, has been sleeping in his car since evacuations began. For two decades, he lived in a rent-controlled apartment in Pacific Palisades, a home now lost to the flames. Without the protection of rent control, Brian fears his modest pension won’t cover even the most basic housing. “I’m back on the market with tens of thousands of people. That doesn’t bode well,” he said.
Governor Gavin Newsom did extend price gouging protections until January 7, 2026, but let’s be honest, laws are meaningless if enforcement is weak and greedy landlords continue to exploit loopholes.
