Family displaced by Eaton Fire claims landlord charged them over $10k a month for rent

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A family displaced by the Eaton Fire has filed a civil lawsuit alleging they were victims of rent gouging and charged more than $10,000 a month for a three-bedroom home.

The plaintiffs, the Renick family, say they felt desperate to secure housing as thousands of others were also looking for places to rent in the aftermath of the fires. According to the lawsuit, they were charged nearly three times the legal amount for a home in Glassell Park -- nearly $15,000 a month, the suit states -- despite anti-price gouging laws and consumer protections in effect.

The lawsuit also alleges that the landlords received a notice from the L.A. City Attorney's Office weeks into renting the property to the Renicks, flagging the listing as potentially in violation of state law. The family says that despite the notice, they continued to be unlawfully charged for months.

Attorneys with The People's Law Project and The Rent Brigade say the case is the first private civil lawsuit of its kind filed in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires. The filing comes one day before Los Angeles County's wildfire-related price gouging protections were set to expire.

Chelsea Kirk of The Rent Brigade said many displaced residents are still struggling to recover.

"Rather than recover from the wildfires, we have stalled out. Thousands of displaced residents still have not been able to find affordable housing. Some have left L.A. altogether," Kirk said.

"Nobody had been through a crazy fire like that before. Having thousands of people looking for housing at the same time. You know, just to think that a landlord would take advantage of people when they are in their most vulnerable state in the middle of a crisis is just outrageous," said Candy Renick.

Attorneys involved in the case say a troubling trend emerged after the fires, with rental prices increasing by 20% to as much as 200% in some cases.

The Renick family has since moved back into their Altadena home. Eyewitness News has reached out to the defendants named in the suit.