Kirk launches Rent Brigade to track rent-gouging in the wake of the LA fires

Following the Los Angeles fires, Chelsea Kirk launched The Rent Brigade: “a collective of tenant organizers, advocates, web programmers, designers, researchers, and other Angelenos using data to fight back against predatory landlords”. 

During the State of Emergency, landlords are prohibited from raising rents above 10% for existing listings. According to the Rent Brigade, “in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires on January 7, 2025, over 5,000 homes were destroyed, displacing thousands and intensifying pressures in an already strained rental market. Exploiting this crisis, landlords engaged in widespread rent gouging, with our analysis identifying 1,343 instances of illegal rent increases totaling $7.7 million monthly.” 

Using data from Zillow, the Rent Brigade issued a report, spreadsheet and map to “document rent gouging by landlords exploiting displaced people during disaster.” The effort exposes landlords and aims to hold them accountable. The spreadsheet has received over 1,500 manual submissions and involves over 170 volunteers, Kirk reports. “It is now being used by the City, the County and Attorney General to investigate rent gougers in LA who are taking advantage of this moment and exploiting displaced people,” she says. As of February 7, “everyone who has been charged so far has been identified through our research.” The report has received coverage in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, LAist, Washington Post and more. 

Key findings from the report: 

• New listings are priced at 315% of Fair Market Rent, nearly double the legal limit.
• Instances surged by 5,065% in just 11 days, with 120 new cases identified daily.
• Rent gouging affects both affluent and working-class neighborhoods like Malibu and Koreatown, involving 1,152 distinct actors and 38 repeat offenders.