by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:40 PM ET, Tue July 22, 2025
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has filed a civil lawsuit against home sharing platform Airbnb for price gouging and allowing unverified hosts on its platform during the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires.
In a press release issued this week, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto accused Airbnb of increasing rental prices of as many as 3,000 properties in the city of Los Angles in violation of California’s Anti-Gouging Law.
“The protections of this law came into effect on January 7, 2025, when Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles,” says the press release. “The law prohibits the prices of essential goods and services - including rental housing - from being increased by more than 10 percent after an emergency is declared."
The state of emergency that triggers the anti-gouging law has been repeatedly extended by California leaders since the wildfires that impacted Pacific Palisades and Altadena. It was most recently extended on June 24, meaning it continues to be illegal for Airbnb to increase the pricing of its rentals by more than 10 percent, said the city attorney’s office.
The new lawsuit also alleges that “Airbnb misleadingly represents to prospective renters that Airbnb has ‘verified’ the accuracy of the identities of hosts and locations of properties on the site.”
“In reality, Airbnb’s ‘verified hosts’ include ‘hosts’ with non-existent or false identities, and “verified” property addresses include addresses that are incorrect or non-existent,” says the press release.
Feldstein Soto’s lawsuit, filed for violations of the CA Unfair Competition Law, seeks a permanent injunction barring Airbnb from charging illegal rents during the current state of emergency and from misrepresenting host identities or property locations, and requests restitution to consumers who were charged illegal rents.
Moreover, the suit is calling for civil penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation to deter price-gouging and unfair, unlawful fraudulent representations to consumers.
“It’s unconscionable that Airbnb permitted prices to be jacked up on thousands of rental properties at a time when so many people lost so much and needed a place to sleep,” Feldstein Soto.
“Although Airbnb subsequently took steps to curtail price gouging, evidence indicates that illegal gouging on the site continues and may be ongoing,” the city attorney added.
The wildfires in early January created an immediate and overwhelming need for local short-term rental housing in Los Angeles.
Airbnb, the world’s most popular online home sharing platform, had 2024 revenue of $11.1 billion with estimated 80 percent market share in Los Angeles.
The city attorney believes hundreds, and maybe even thousands of Angelenos who evacuated their homes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena area ultimately booked rentals on Airbnb.
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