Editing Price gouging (section)

==== California ====
California Penal Code 396 prohibits price gouging, generally defined as anything greater than a 10 percent increase in price on items such as rent, hotel lodging, gasoline, food, and other essentials, once a state of emergency has been declared.{{ r | PD_2018-11-30 }}<ref name=":02">Cal. Penal Code § 396 (West 2018).</ref>&nbsp;Unlike other states that require the [[President of the United States]] or the state's governor to declare a state of emergency, California allows emergency proclamations by officials, boards, and other governing bodies of cities and counties to trigger C.P.C. § 396.<ref>''See e.g.'', Ala. Code § 8-31-4 (2017); Fla. Stat. § 501.160 (2017); Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-25 (2008); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1345.01 (2009).</ref> The prohibition lasts for up to 30 days at a time and may be renewed as necessary.<ref name=":22">Cal. Penal Code § 396(b) (West 2018) (stipulating that a person or entity may not sell any of the enumerated goods or services for more than 10 percent more than the price that vendor charged for that good or service "immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency").</ref>

In the wake of the [[2017 California wildfires]] and the [[2018 California wildfires]], Governor [[Jerry Brown]] repeatedly extended the price-gouging ban for impacted counties.<ref name=PD_2018-11-30>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/9018789-181/gov-jerry-brown-extends-price-gouging?sba=AAS|title=Governor Jerry Brown Extends Price Gouging Protections | last=Swindell | first=Bill | date=2018-11-30 | newspaper=[[The Press Democrat]] | quote=It caps annual rent increases at 10 percent along with some additional tenant protections. The cap also applies to hotel rooms, food, fuel, medicine and other essential supplies during a declared emergency. }}</ref> One of his last acts as governor was to extend the prohibitions until May 31, 2019.<ref>''Id''.</ref>

Until 2018, the state had no limitations on the rent that could be charged for housing that was not on the market until after a disaster.{{ r | LAT_2025-01-23 }}  Due to complaints from the district attorney that she could not prosecute high priced new rentals which came on the market after the [[Tubbs Fire]], the legislature amended C.P.C. § 396.{{ r | LAT_2025-01-23 }} 

The above 2018 price gouging law makes it illegal to offer a previously unrented property for more than about $10,000 per month during an emergency.{{ r | LAT_2025-01-23 }} It also prohibits landlords from increasing rent prices by more than 10% when an emergency is declared. Landlords are also prohibited from accepting fees above this amount even if the tenant submits an offer well above the asking price.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-18/california-atty-gen-says-bidding-wars-arent-exempt-from-price-gouging-rules|title=California attorney general says bidding wars aren't exempt from price-gouging rules|last=Khouri|first=Andrew|date=2025-01-18|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref> In the wake of the January 2025 [[Palisades Fire]], this price cap has made it harder for displaced people to find housing, because many comparable properties normally rent for more than this, and this rent cap discourages owners of high-end vacation homes from making their homes available for rent.{{ r | LAT_2025-01-23 }}  One expert estimated that hundreds to thousands more homes might be available for rent if this rent cap did not exist.<ref name=LAT_2025-01-23 > {{ cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2025-01-23/price-gouging-rules-high-end-homes-la-rental-market | title=Some price-gouging rules could be keeping high-end homes off L.A.'s rental market | last=Dillon | first=Liam | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=2025-01-23 | quote=...Shane Phillips, manager of the Randall Lewis Housing Initiative at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. He estimated that potential landlords could be holding back “in the high hundreds to the low thousands” of homes due to the price limitations on new listings. That amount is too small to affect L.A.’s overall rental market but does make it harder for displaced people to find houses, he said. “Every home does count,” Phillips said. “It does matter. And no matter how fancy it is, someone from the Palisades can afford it.” }} </ref>