L.A. landlords slammed for exploiting wildfire tragedy with steep Zillow rent hikes

Desperate times truly reveal a person's character; while some rise as heroes, showing empathy, others see tragedy as an opportunity to profit. This was evident during the recent Los Angeles wildfires when some individuals began manipulating property prices. According to several California County residents, rental rates saw dramatic increases from landlords in the aftermath of the devastating fires. Housing reporter David Wagner, who goes by @radiowagner on the microblogging site X, highlighted how agents were seizing this moment to make a significant profit, leveraging platforms like Zillow.

Reports indicate that some properties have raised their prices by as much as 86% on Zillow, a popular online platform for real estate and rentals. “A furnished Bel Air home went on Zillow today for $29,500/month. A few months ago, it was asking $15,900,” Wagner remarked, sharing a screenshot of the listing from January 11, 2025. The timing of this listing coincided with the wildfires tearing through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a tragedy where at least 24 lives were lost and around 5,000 homes were destroyed.

“I called up the agent. She said she told her client to re-list the home after this week's L.A. fires,” the journalist added. Previously, Wagner had reported how some locals in L.A. County saw the crisis as an opportunity for profit. "People are desperate. You can probably get good money," the LAist reporter quoted the agent he contacted. In his detailed report for the outlet, Wagner reached out to another property listing agent, Fiora Aston. “I’ve been in the business for 35 years. I’ve never seen anything like this. People are desperate. There’s so many families without a house,” she reiterated.

In another similar case, The Los Angeles Times reported a landlord who raised the monthly rent of an Encino house from $9,000 to $11,500. However, following community backlash, the property owner backtracked, lowering the rent to $9,800. Many others noted similar price fluctuations after reviewing the latest Zillow listings. Among them, ophthalmologist and PhD researcher Houman David (@houmanhemmati on X) highlighted how a landlord increased the price of a property in the West Los Angeles area.

“Opportunistic price gougers renting out non-burned homes in West Los Angeles to fire victims with huge insurance policies in 3, 2, 1… go!” David wrote, adding a screengrab of the listing. He explained: “Insane. The first house has a $10k a month price INCREASE today. Tip of the iceberg. Everyone increasing rents because of desperation and $!” Reacting to it, @AssyrianAngel28 claimed, “Same thing happened in Northern CA during the massive wind, hail and rainstorms. The real kicker? Digging deeper reveals insurance companies colluding with homeowners renting out properties.” “That’s criminal. Why would one want to rent from someone with that type of character,” @RobinKetchum7 asked. “I called a spot today that was listed for a certain price and then it was $2,500 more a month on the phone,” @therossg shared. It was unclear whether authorities in California or Zillow took any action against such listings amidst the ongoing suffering.