California officials warn against price gouging as rents soar in fire-stricken Los Angeles

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Southern California's expensive housing market is going to get a lot more competitive after deadly firestorms torched more than 12,000 homes and other structures in the Los Angeles area, leaving tens of thousands of people without a place to stay. Already, there are reports of rent gouging, prompting elected leaders to issue stern warnings against the practice and plead with the public to report unethical property owners who hike up rents above the allotted 10% cap. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that it is illegal for landlords to accept rent that exceeds the cap, even if someone is offering to pay a higher amount. "You cannot jack up prices and take advantage of disaster victims, plain and simple," he said at a news conference. A modern three-bedroom condo in a downtown LA high-rise, for example, that was offered at $5,500 a month in October popped back up on Zillow with a new asking rent of $8,500. The entire state has struggled with the twin crises of housing and homelessness, only recently starting to make inroads to build more affordable homes. California law prohibits price gouging after an emergency has been declared, meaning that individuals and businesses cannot increase the price of goods and services such as gas or rentals by more than 10% from before the emergency was declared. Price gouging is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine for each violation. Protections related to housing are generally in effect for 30 days. But Gov. Gavin Newsom extended prohibitions on motel, hotel and rental housing to March 8. Tenants’ rights and landlord association groups have called for strict enforcement against rent gougers amid media reports of obscenely high prices. People on social media are crowd-sourcing examples of egregious increases, and even inputting their findings into a shared Google document. This article was provided by The Associated Press.