Newsom issues order to protect LA fire victims from predatory real estate buyers
CA wildfires: How to avoid price gouging on housing
Thousands of people across Southern California have been displaced from the wildfires, either from evacuating or losing their home. And now there are reports of landlords trying to take advantage of people who need housing with price gouging. Real estate agent Michael Vorobiev discusses the issue and gives tips to avoid falling victim.
LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Tuesday to help protect the victims of the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area from predatory real estate speculators.
The order would prohibit people from making offers to purchase land in the areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
The Palisades and Eaton fires both broke out on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Fanned by dangerous Santa Ana winds, the fires have spread, burning nearly 40,000 acres and destroying or damaging nearly 7,000 structures.
RELATED: California Wildfires: Interactive map of LA evacuation orders, warnings
Specifically, the order would make it illegal for anyone to make an unsolicited offer on property in 15 zip codes across Los Angeles County that are "for an amount less than the fair market value of the property or interest in the property on Jan. 6, 2025." The ban would be in effect for the next three months.
Newsom's office said the order was modeled after a similar order made by Hawaii Gov. Josh Green in 2023, after wildfires in the town of Lahaina.
"As families mourn, the last thing they need is greedy speculators taking advantage of their pain. I have heard first-hand from community members and victims who have received unsolicited and predatory offers from speculators offering cash far below market value — some while their homes were burning," Newsom wrote in a press release. "We will not allow greedy developers to rip off these working-class communities at a time when they need more support than ever before."
The ban is in effect for the following zip codes:
- 90019
- 90041
- 90049
- 90066
- 90265
- 90272
- 90290
- 90402
- 91001
- 91040
- 91104
- 91106
- 91107
- 93535
- 93536