Supervisors had renewed the emergency rules on a month-to-month basis since last summer. A proposed 30-day extension failed to gain majority support during Tuesday’s board meeting.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declined to extend emergency rent price-gouging protections enacted after the wildfires, allowing the measures to expire May 28 after months of renewals.
The protections prohibited rent increases of 10% or more following the Jan. 7, 2025, windstorm and fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and displaced residents across the region.
County supervisors had renewed the emergency rules on a month-to-month basis since last summer. A proposed 30-day extension failed to gain majority support during Tuesday’s board meeting.
Following the vote, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath criticized the board’s decision, saying wildfire survivors remain vulnerable more than a year after the fires.
“I’m deeply disappointed a majority of my colleagues voted not to renew wildfire price gouging protections for Los Angeles County renters and survivors,” Horvath said in a statement. “We continue hearing from residents who are struggling to recover financially and stay housed as they rebuild.”
Under the emergency protections, landlords and businesses were barred from imposing excessive increases on rents, building materials and other essential goods tied to the declared emergency period.
With the protections set to lapse, county officials warned some renters — including tenants in single-family homes not covered by certain local stabilization ordinances — could face unrestricted rent increases.
State tenant protections under California’s AB 1482 and local rent stabilization laws will remain in effect.
