Editorial News Alert: L.A. County Passes Further Extension of Emergency Price Restrictions
Editorial News Alert:
L.A. County Passes Further Extension of Emergency Price Restrictions
By Janet M. Gagnon
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer & SVP Government Affairs
On January 13th, 2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to pass a further extension of emergency price restrictions (also known as anti-price gouging restrictions) based on a motion by Supervisor Horvath due to the wildfires that occurred a year ago and claiming that rental housing providers are not complying with existing restrictions. The motion goes into effect on January 29, 2028, and extends existing price restrictions until February 27, 2026. There has been no gap in these price restrictions since January 7, 2025, resulting from one declared emergency after another.
AAGLA vigorously opposed this further extension and yet it was passed. However, AAGLA was successful in obtaining an amendment from Supervisor Barger to require the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) to report back to the full Board of Supervisors with data on whether price gouging is actually occurring in the County as claimed on three separate occasions in Horvath’s motions.
In addition, Governor Gavin Newsom has also declared an emergency for Los Angeles County based on the December storm that is still in effect until February 7, 2026. The difference between state law and County ordinance regarding anti-price gouging provisions primarily involves penalties for non-compliance with the County’s ordinance significantly increasing penalties from $10,000 under state law up to $50,000 per violation under the County’s ordinance.
Given this latest extension of the emergency price restrictions, no rental housing provider of any kind (multifamily, single-family, condominium, townhouses, or accessory dwelling units) countywide is now allowed to raise rents in existing rental housing for new or existing renters by more than 10% until at least February 27, 2026.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Thanks to Supervisor Barger, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) will provide a report on February 10, 2026 to the Board of Supervisor. The DCBA report will contain specific data regarding the number of verified violations, total number of price gouging complaints, residents impacted, legal actions taken and restitution amounts recovered. It will also include academic research on the effectiveness of price gouging protections during disasters, an assessment of current market conditions in fire impacted areas and their relationship to price gouging, and a summary of the Department of Angels January 2026 report, “Community Voice” LA Fire Report”, based on surveys of 2,243 adults from fire-impacted communities.
We urge all rental housing providers throughout Los Angeles County to send an email to all 5 Los Angeles County Supervisors urging them to end the extension of these “emergency” price restrictions. They are causing substantial financial damage to rental housing providers throughout the County, especially those under the County’s existing Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance (RSTPO) that have vacant units and are unable to bring them to full market rate as well as newly developed units that are being delayed from being brought on the market. These restrictions are making the housing market worse for renters as fewer units are being made available and mom-and-pop RSTPO owners are financial strangled by the County’s ongoing restrictions (13 months and counting) and forced out of business.
Click here to send an email. If the link does not work with your system, please use the L.A. County Supervisors Emails list attached below to copy and paste the email addresses into your email.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific leasing issues and the requirements of any legal changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.