Gov. Newsom extended the protection of rent increases until the beginning of March

Gov. Gavin Newsom extended protections for rent hikes Thursday amid calls for authorities to prosecute rent-seeking landlords in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles County fires.

Under California law, price gouging protection kicks in in an emergency and generally prevents landlords, hotels and motels from charging more than 10% more than what they were charging or advertising before the disaster.

The protections were supposed to expire in February, but Newsom issued an executive order on Thursday that will extend them in LA County until March 8.

Since the fires broke out last week, dozens of landlords have raised rents on their properties beyond what is allowed by law, including increases of more than 50%, according to an online listing.

The listing has been widely shared on social media and has sparked calls from lettings associations and even some landlord groups for the authorities to prosecute.

“The actions of a few bad actors are tainting our entire industry and exploiting vulnerable families struggling to rebuild,” Tom Bannon, CEO of the California Apartment Assn., said in a statement Wednesday. “We support efforts to strengthen penalties for violators and encourage stricter enforcement.”

In addition to the extension of protection against price increases, Newsom’s executive order wants to accelerate the construction of houses after the fires, taking additional measures to those that have already announced. The new rules also include making it easier to build ADUs in fire-damaged buildings and speeding up the approval process for temporary housing.

“As thousands of Los Angeles residents face sudden displacement, our state will do everything it can to help provide housing and assistance as quickly as possible,” Newsom said in a statement. “Today, we are speeding up the construction of new temporary housing by removing roadblocks and strengthening protections against exploitation.”