*[…] Some landlords have capitalized on residents’ desperation by hiking rents to exorbitant levels, despite laws that set limits on such increases.*
*Between Jan. 7 and 18, landlords and agents tried to illegally overcharge Los Angeles County renters by a cumulative total of $7.7 million a month, according to a study based on Zillow data by the Rent Brigade, a collective that includes tenant organizers and advocates.*
*The number of rent-gouging instances jumped by more than 5,000% from the first day of this time period to the last, according to the study.*
*A crowdsourced Google spreadsheet of rental listings also shows that the prices of some single-family residences jumped by thousands of dollars.*
*For example, one unit rose from $2,690 a month in late December to more than $5,100, according to the spreadsheet, which was created by Chelsea Kirk, director of research and policy at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.*
*[…] Grant Riley, an attorney at the firm Riley Ersoff, said he’s been receiving calls from long-term tenants around LA County who have been paying their rent on time but received notices to vacate.*
*Creating a new vacancy, especially during a housing shortage, could be a way for a landlord to jack up the unit’s rent to inflated market value after the wildfires, Riley said.*
*“Landlords are looking for excuses to hold tenants in default so they can evict,” Riley said.*
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Costs filter down to inflate market value.
By Janet Nguyen:
*[…] Some landlords have capitalized on residents’ desperation by hiking rents to exorbitant levels, despite laws that set limits on such increases.*
*Between Jan. 7 and 18, landlords and agents tried to illegally overcharge Los Angeles County renters by a cumulative total of $7.7 million a month, according to a study based on Zillow data by the Rent Brigade, a collective that includes tenant organizers and advocates.*
*The number of rent-gouging instances jumped by more than 5,000% from the first day of this time period to the last, according to the study.*
*A crowdsourced Google spreadsheet of rental listings also shows that the prices of some single-family residences jumped by thousands of dollars.*
*For example, one unit rose from $2,690 a month in late December to more than $5,100, according to the spreadsheet, which was created by Chelsea Kirk, director of research and policy at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.*
*[…] Grant Riley, an attorney at the firm Riley Ersoff, said he’s been receiving calls from long-term tenants around LA County who have been paying their rent on time but received notices to vacate.*
*Creating a new vacancy, especially during a housing shortage, could be a way for a landlord to jack up the unit’s rent to inflated market value after the wildfires, Riley said.*
*“Landlords are looking for excuses to hold tenants in default so they can evict,” Riley said.*
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