Homes burnt down in Los Angeles fires, asking rents soar

Los Angeles rental housing prices are skyrocketing amid historic fires in Southern California, leaving thousands of homeless residents scrambling to find a new place to live.

LAist found one Zillow listing for a fully furnished home in Bel Air posted for $29,500 per month on Saturday morning. The listing’s price history shows this is an almost 86% increase from September 2024, when the home was previously listed for $15,900 per month.

When an LAist reporter called Compass listing agent Fiora Aston, she said dozens of prospective tenants who had lost their homes in the fire had contacted her about this and other listings on Los Angeles’ Westside. spoke. When LAist asked why the advertised rent for a Bel Air home had risen so high, he said he would call again and hung up.

“It’s crazy,” Aston said before hanging up. “I’ve been in this industry for 35 years. I’ve never seen anything like this. People are desperate. There are a lot of families without homes.”

LAist reached out to Compass’ media relations team about the Bel Air listing, but did not immediately receive a response. By Saturday afternoon, the listing had been removed. Later that afternoon, Aston texted to let her know that a member of her family had moved out. LAist asked to interview the family and property owner, but Aston declined.

California has a law prohibiting price gouging after a disaster.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in connection with the Palisades fire, which has already destroyed an estimated 5,000 structures in an upscale residential area near the Los Angeles coastline. The governor’s emergency declaration includes a ban on price gouging, defined as a price increase of more than 10% compared to pre-disaster prices.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told LAist partner KCAL News earlier this week that the price gouging ban applies not only to housing, but also to other necessities such as food, transportation and medicine. spoke. Bonta said residents should report suspected price gouging through his office’s website.

“If prices seem really unusual, meaning prices seem to be rising higher than normal, please report it to us,” Bonta said. “We’ll take it from there. We’ll evaluate it. We’ll hold people accountable and enforce where necessary.”

Looking at the price history of rental properties reveals the rise in prices after the fire

Journalists from other outlets have reported on properties whose asking rents have soared as a result of the fire. The New York Times looked at properties on Zillow on Los Angeles’ West Side and found asking rents had increased by 15% to 64% since Tuesday. An agent reportedly lowered the asking rent on an Encino property from $11,500 to $9,800 a month after a Los Angeles Times reporter asked why the asking rent had increased nearly 28% in recent days. .

Michael Lenz, professor of urban planning and public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said rents in L.A., already considered unaffordable for many families, will be reduced by the immediate influx of people simultaneously seeking scarce housing. He said he expected prices to rise.

“It’s going to be particularly taxing on adjacent communities,” Lenz said. “That may be especially severe from the Palisades effect on the West Side.”

Bel Air listing details

This four-bedroom home on Cassiano Road in Bel Air is listed on Zillow for $29,500 and is described online as a “fully furnished, meticulously restored mid-century modern home. ” was praised. The listing said the home is “perched in a tranquil canyon” with “breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape, including the iconic Getty Museum.”

The home is currently in an evacuation zone as the Palisades Fire continues to spread. Aston told LAist that his home was not opened directly to the public because of these warnings. Aston said, “We have decided not to screen the film until next week.”

She said the owners took it off the market a few months ago, but then decided to list it again.

“When this whole situation happened, I said to her… people are desperate, so you can probably get good money,” Aston said. “She has a second house, so she moved into the second house. This house is rented.”

After Aston hung up, LAist texted her and asked if she knew about California’s disaster-related price gouging law. “Sorry, I can’t talk right now,” she emailed back, referring to another property in Mar Vista where she said someone had offered her $10,000 more than her asking rent of $15,000. Ta.

She concluded her message with “supply and demand.”

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