Joe Thompson’s desperate post-wildfire rush to find new housing for his family led him Saturday to a five-bedroom house in Santa Monica, Calif., that had been put on the market the day before for $28,000 per month, more than double. the rent posted a year ago. The agent was asking for three months’ rent in advance and had already received applications from several people.
Thompson and his partner turned away, dismayed.
“We’re not going to do that,” Thompson, 44, a trader and investor, said later. “We’re just going to keep looking.”
The couple and their two young children were displaced by forest fire that razed much of their Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles last week. Although their house remains standing, they do not know the extent of the damage or when they will be allowed to return. So they joined thousands of people looking for housing in a city that was suffering from a severe shortage before the disaster.
The stampede has led some landlords and property managers to raise prices on short-term rentals, including dozens that appear to violate a California law against a price increase of more than 10% during a state of emergency, according to a review of Zillow listings and interviews with real estate agents, housing advocates and housing seekers.
Authorities asked residents to report abuse to the state attorney general’s office.
“This is absolutely unacceptable and illegal in the face of this horrific tragedy,” state Assembly member Jacqui Irwin, who represents parts of West Los Angeles, said at a news conference Sunday. .
The attorney general’s spokesperson declined to answer questions about the complaints, saying such investigations are not public.
It’s a story that repeats itself often in America: When a natural disaster strikes, rents soar as demand exceeds a city’s capacity. Some can afford higher prices. Many others don’t. The burden generally falls heaviest on people who were renters before the disaster, researchers say. The crisis is also driving up home purchase prices.
In some cases, potential short-term tenants in Los Angeles County find themselves on waiting lists, in bidding wars or being asked to provide a year’s worth of rent up front.
“A group of homeowners who have lived in their homes for 10, 20, 30 years and haven’t experienced the rental market for decades are going to get a crash course in the housing shortage, and it’s not pretty,” , said Brock Harris, who runs a real estate brokerage with his wife, Lori.
The couple is trying to help wildfire victims secure rental properties, many whose mortgage payments will now only cover small apartments. “The ability for these people to find a similar price or similar housing to what they lost is an almost impossible task,” Harris said.
Wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area last week consumed more than 40,000 acres, wiping out entire neighborhoods and destroying more than 12,300 structures. Several fires continue to burn.
Wildfire victims span a wide range of housing situations, including working-class renters struggling with their bills, retirees who have owned their homes for decades, young couples who recently purchased a home, and wealthy families with a second home elsewhere.
Many fled with only a few possessions and now have no permanent home. Many are living with family, friends or in hotels, coping with unimaginable loss while also searching for long-term housing. The state has set up temporary shelters for those who have nowhere to turn. Airbnb.org, a nonprofit organization independent of Airbnb, works with a local nonprofit group, 211 LA, to provide free temporary housing to victims.
Magdaleno Rosales, an organizer with the Los Angeles Tenants Union, which advocates for renters and affordable housing, said the group has launched an effort to track reports of rent price gouging. He said he had received more than 450 tips, with some describing spikes of just over 10% and a dozen reporting increases of 100% or more.
“Landlords are moving very quickly to try to take advantage of people’s desperation,” he said.
Rosales added that he worries about evictions of working-class tenants by landlords who see opportunities to cash out.
“Los Angeles was already home to one of the worst housing and homelessness crises,” he said. “And so, as a result of this tragedy, these horrific fires, it looks like it’s going to get even worse.”
An NBC News study of rent increases found numerous examples. A listing agent, Ofir Malul, was named to a dozen rentals whose prices rose as the fires spread last week. For seven of the properties, price increases exceeded the 10% allowed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration. A four-bedroom house in Topanga jumped 24%up to $14,300. A three-bedroom with views of the iconic Hollywood sign rose 45%at $14,500.
Malul answered a call and initially agreed to speak with a reporter after finishing a meeting, but he did not respond to subsequent calls or messages. As of Sunday evening, all 12 listings appeared to have been removed and his name had been removed. He then texted a reporter to say the listings weren’t his.
Zillow released a statement saying it has activated “internal systems to report potential violations so we can evaluate and take action,” adding: “We believe it is essential that housing providers follow local rules regarding housing, including consumer protection against price gouging during and after. a natural disaster, and we provide resources to help them understand their responsibilities.
The picture is not entirely gloomy. In addition to allegations of price gouging, there are stories of generosity and empathy.
Tannis Mann, who lost the Pacific Palisades home she and her partner purchased in 2023, is living with her sister while they try to find short-term housing. Mann, 37, a brand manager for a food company, said he has seen examples of owners maintaining or lowering prices.
“When I look at Zillow, if I see that someone has raised the price, I take them off the list,” Mann said, “because I don’t want that person to be my landlord.”
For Ashley and Tim Polmateer, whose home in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood of Pacific Palisades was destroyed, looking through dozens of listings online and six in person failed to find a new place to live. They said they saw listings with rent increases of $1,000 in the days after the fire.
For now, they plan to stay in an Airbnb property until the end of the month with their three young children and 10-week-old golden retriever puppy, and they hope to find something by February 1.
“At least we’re all together,” Ashley Polmateer said.
Thompson’s research also continues. His family is staying in a hotel while waiting to find accommodation near the children’s schools. On Monday, he checked out a rental that had just come on the market at a price unchanged since before the fires, he said. But the agent told him he was one of 70 people on the list.
“People lost everything,” Thompson said. “They are in a state of uncertainty, they don’t even know how long they will need housing, and they are forced to outbid and offer the best possible conditions to a landlord. It’s crazy.
