American real estate broker Jason Oppenheim has furiously hit out at landlords “taking advantage” of wildfires in Los Angeles.
The Selling Sunset star said hotels in the city were “overwhelmed” leaving thousands of people without a place to stay. He said residents of their city have “tears in their eyes all day long” as their homes, belongings and lives are ravaged by unstoppable flames.
But the emotional reality star said the situation was being made worse by landlords trying to use the tragedy to financially benefit. He accused landlords of “ignoring” price gouging laws in California that ban people from taking advantage of a natural disaster.
Appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuennsberg, he said: “I think it should be exposed, but 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. And the landlord said: ‘No, I want $23,000 a month.’
“There are price gouging laws in California. They’re just being ignored right now, and this isn’t the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it’s also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster.” Jason said he “absolutely” believes landlords are breaking the law, adding: “I researched the law last night. You cannot charge more than 10% pre-disaster market rates.”
Asked how he feels to see some part of LA “reduced to ash and rubble”, Jason said: “I can’t even put words to it. I never could have imagined that this would have happened here. And maybe that’s naivety on my part. But communities like Altadena, you know, very hard working class areas and these people really lost not just their homes, but their belongings, their clothes.
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“Forget about the $50 to $100 billion of damage that’s caused, it’s emotional for everyone. I mean, I think everyone just has tears and, you know, in their eyes all day long, not literally from the smoke, but also just because it’s emotional to see people struggling like this.” He said he believes LA will come back, adding: “We are so resilient… we’ll rebuild better and with stronger foundations.”
The death toll from the wildfires ravaging LA has risen to 16 as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks. Thousands of people have lost their homes including high-profile celebs such as Paris Hilton.
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In a briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters. Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.