Board Chair Kathryn Barger cited a disturbing trend of price gouging, preying on the most vulnerable communities.

After recent studies showed thousands of rental listings in Los Angeles appearing to violate price gouging laws in Los Angeles after the California wildfires, LA County raised the penalty for price gouging from $10,

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a temporary increase to the existing penalty for those found guilty of price gouging, raising the maximum civil fine from $10,000 to $50,000 for each violation.

The County Counsel was also authorized to consider initiating or joining existing litigation regarding price gouging and price fixing algorithm software used by housing websites.

The penalty for price gouging after the fires in Los Angeles County just got a lot more expensive. The new max fine: The L.A. County Board Supervisors voted Tuesday to increase the maximum fine from $10,000 to $50,000 for illegally raising prices and rents by more than 10% in the wake of last month’s fires.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday to increase the penalty for price gouging to a maximum of $50,000 per violation.

Rent Brigade, an online group that tracks rent increases, found more than 2,800 examples of rent gouging in LA County.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proposed increasing the current $10,000 fine for price gouging up to $50,000 in the wake of the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires.