Evacuations organized to deal with the major fires hitting the region have considerably increased demand. Thousands of people have lost their homes and are desperately looking for a solution to find new housing. A disastrous situation from which some real estate agents and owners have decided to take advantage. “It’s completely crazy. We applied for a house in Venice that was listed for $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn’t pay $30,000 we wouldn’t get it. They told me that they have people ready to outbid, and to pay cash.” evacuated resident Maya Lieberman told AFP.
However, a measure to avoid this type of abuse was taken by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who banned “price gouging”. It is therefore not authorized to increase the price of food, gasoline or real estate by more than 10%. Those who practice this type of increase face a sentence of up to a year in prison and a fine of several thousand dollars.
