Attorney General Bonta Issues More Than 200 Warning Letters on Price Gouging to Southern California Hotels and Landlords

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent more than 200 warning letters – and counting – to hotels and landlords who have been accused of price gouging. In addition, the office has active criminal investigations into price gouging underway. DOJ has been working diligently to tackle this unlawful and unscrupulous conduct since the state of emergency was declared on January 7, 2025. If you have seen price gouging or are a victim please report it at oag.ca.gov/report or by calling the hotline at (800) 952-5225. 

“The price gouging that we’re seeing and hearing about needs to stop now,” said Attorney General Bonta. “These letters are just one of many tools my office is using to stop this illegal activity. May they serve as declaration that we are taking swift action, and we will not stop until the price gouging does. Like our other outreach, these notices are important. We’ve already received reports of citizens who, armed with knowledge of these laws, have been able to push back against unlawful rents, and landlords have responded by reducing rates to within the lawful limits. We’re doing everything we can to protect Californians who are looking for a safe place to evacuate, to recuperate, and to care for their terrified kids and families in the most basic ways.” 

The letters warn the recipient that DOJ has received a report alleging potential price gouging for their rental property. The letter further states that price gouging is a criminal offense, and that reports about price gouging are taken very seriously. Although the letters are is clear that there is no assumption as to the truth of the allegations, they serve to make the owner or landlord aware of the report, and to place them on notice of California's anti-price gouging laws.

The Governor has declared a state of emergency that has triggered the price gouging protections of Penal Code section 396 for rental housing for one year, until January 7, 2026. These protections generally prohibit raising the price of rental housing by more than 10 percent of the previously charged price after an emergency is declared. Where a home or unit was not rented prior to a declaration of emergency, the rental price cannot exceed 160 percent of the fair market value of rental housing as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  

Additionally, section 396 makes it a crime to evict a tenant and then re-rent the property at a rate that the landlord would have been prohibited from charging the evicted tenant. Violators of Section 396 are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution.

TIPS FOR REPORTING PRICE GOUGING, SCAMS, FRAUD AND OTHER CRIMES:

1. Visit oag.ca.gov/LAfires or call our hotline at: (800) 952-5225.
2. Include screenshots of all correspondence including conversations, text messages, direct messages (DMs), and voicemails.
3. Provide anything that shows what prices you were offered, when, and by whom.
4. If you’re on a site like Zillow, you can also send screenshots of the price history and a link to the listing. 
5. Include first and last names of the realtors, listing agents, or business owners you spoke to. Be sure to include phone numbers, email addresses, home and business addresses, websites, social media accounts.
6. Don't leave out any information that can help us find and contact the business or landlord.

To view a list of all price gouging restrictions currently in effect as a result of proclamations by the Governor, please see here.

A copy of the letter can be found here.