California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday aimed at expediting the construction of temporary housing for tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents evacuated by wildfires in Southern California.
The order also imposes strict limits on rent and hotel price gouging, as state and local governments fight a frenzy of buying up real estate as thousands of displaced people compete for rooms, apartments and homes. This is part of efforts by the authorities.
“We are now expediting the construction of new temporary housing by removing roadblocks and strengthening protections against exploitation,” Governor Newsom said in a statement.
The initiative would ease regulations on mobile homes and temporary housing, making it easier for emergency agencies to construct them on burned-out sites, the governor's office said.
The order would also extend a ban on price gouging by real estate sellers, landlords and hoteliers, as demand for temporary housing has led to bidding wars and alarming price increases for real estate. Previous executive orders by Governor Newsom restricted unsolicited offers, real estate speculation and evictions in areas burned by wildfires. Additionally, rent increases were capped at 10% for the duration of the crisis.
Eight evacuation centers were opened in Los Angeles by the Red Cross and other disaster relief agencies. Together they can accommodate approximately 800 people.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, two of the region's largest fires, destroyed or damaged a total of more than 10,000 structures in what was already one of the most affordable housing markets in the United States. It exposed the inequalities in the market.
“The people of this region are being preyed upon by greedy corporations, landlords, scammers and predatory buyers looking to make a quick buck off of their suffering.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “My office is here to say this is not only wrong, this is illegal.”
Los Angeles-area real estate agents describe whispers of a chaotic scramble to buy and sell homes and a network where unlisted properties quickly sell for millions of dollars.
In Pacific Palisades, where the average annual household income is more than three times the city average, residents evacuated by the Palisades fire are scrambling to buy second or third homes nearby.
