Gov. Gavin Newsom has lifted a price cap on new rental listings for some single-family homes in Los Angeles, responding to concerns that the rules had been restricting the availability of housing in the wake of last month’s wildfires.
Triggered by the Eaton and Palisades fires, California’s price-gouging laws have limited the monthly rental price for Los Angeles County properties that had not been offered for rent in the previous year to, in effect, no higher than $9,554 a month. That amount was below pre-fire prices for larger houses in wealthier neighborhoods. Real estate analysts have told The Times that the price cap could be keeping thousands of potential rentals off the market. More than 11,500 homes were destroyed in last month’s fires.
Under an executive order issued Monday , Newsom waived the price-gouging rules for new rental listings of single-family-homes of four bedrooms or larger in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood and 24 other ZIP codes…