L.A. County Emergency Ordinances

Due to the Wildfires of January 7th, Los Angeles County has continued the emergency price-gouging ordinance.

1) A property that has been rented can have its price raised by a maximum of 10% over the rate paid by an outgoing tenant if it becomes vacant and is re-rented.

2) If a property was advertised for rent within the year prior to January 7, 2025, although not rented since, the maximum price is 10% above the price last advertised. 

3) If a property has no recent rental history, and was not advertised for rent for a year before January 7, 2025, certain calculations likely apply to set an allowable rental rate. This rule is complicated by a (mostly favorable) “exemption” created in a February executive order. 

• 3A) Any property of 3BR or fewer must set a price no greater than 200% of the “fair market rent established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,” plus 10%. Furnished properties can add 5%. We’ll explain below.
• 3B) Any property of 4BR or more that is not in an “exempted” ZIP code also must set a price no greater than 200% of the “fair market rent established by [HUD],” plus 10%. Furnished properties can add 5%. 
• 3C) A property with 4BR or more that IS in an “exempted” ZIP code may set any market price whatsoever.

Properties under 3A or 3B are tied to the HUD “fair market rent” (FMR), which is broken down by ZIP code. The FMR is ordinarily used to help determine how much the government will pay for housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers.