- Jason Oppenheim, reality star and founder of real-estate company The Oppenheim Group, says his clients are being charged above market rates during the Los Angeles wildfires.
A portion of greedy landlords are reportedly profiteering from the deadly blazes sweeping through Los Angeles.
Jason Oppenheim, who leads the Oppenheim Group featured on Netflix's hit show 'Selling Sunset,' says his clients searching for new homes are being charged an above-market premium because of the fires.
"It's frustrating, especially because it's really hard work trying to find people houses," he told Fortune. "And these people are already dealing with enough. They've been displaced, their kids schools have been burnt down, and now they're being asked to shell out above market rents."
Not only is this morally abhorrent, Oppenheim points out price gouging in the wake of a natural disaster is also illegal.
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Oppenheim explained: "We're having landlords taking advantage of the situation. I had a client, we sent him to a house that was asking $13,000 a month. He offered $20,000 a month and he offered to pay six months up front. The landlord said: 'No, I want $23,000 a month.'
"There are price gouging laws in California that are just being ignored right now. This isn't the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it's also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster."
Under California State law, it is illegal to hike prices by more than 10% during a declared state of emergency.
At the time of writing, four significant blazes are still burning, including the Palisades Fire, which has engulfed almost 24,000 acres of homes, businesses, and community buildings.
The fires are believed to have caused 23 deaths, per the California Fire Department.
Private forecaster AccuWeather has also reevaluated its damage estimate because of the infernos to between $135 billion and $150 billion.
Individuals looking to cash in during such a period of devastation have been given blunt warnings by law enforcement.
California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, said at a press conference over the weekend: "Price gouging ... is illegal. You cannot do it. It is a crime, punishable by up to a year in jail and $10,000 fines.
"To anyone who would go out and take advantage of this tragedy for their greedy gain, who would further victimize people who have potentially lost everything, who would look at this situation and see dollar signs—I have a message for you: You will be held accountable. My office will be engaged to hold you accountable."
"We'll rebuild better with stronger foundations than ever before"
Oppenheim is known for selling homes for tens of millions of dollars and enjoying the finest parts of the City of Angels—a far cry from the devastation now engulfing more than 40,000 acres of the Californian tundra.
But as the city and its residents continue to feel the devastation of the ongoing wildfires, Oppenheim told Fortune that any agent with his brokerage will forego their commission for clients displaced by the fires. He said the firm is also encouraging other clients who have available, unused properties to put them on the market to increase the overall supply.
"Nobody should be profiting," Oppenheim said. "If anything, people should be giving to those in need right now."
Oppenheim added that the destruction took him by surprise.
"I can't even put words to it," Oppenheim told the BBC. "I never could have imagined that this would have happened here, and maybe that's naivety on my part.
"Communities like Altadena—very hardworking class areas—these people really lost not just their homes but their belongings, their clothes ... It's emotional for everyone, I think everyone just has tears in their eyes all day long—not literally from the smoke—but because it's emotional to see people struggling like this."
Oppenheim, reportedly worth $50 million, said the resilience of the American people will push LA to rebuild and do so better.
"We are so resilient—and I mean this city, but the American resilience is unmatched, in my opinion," he said.
"We'll rebuild, and we'll rebuild better with stronger foundations than ever before ... at the same time I hope that we can learn difficult and important lessons about our priorities."
