Blueground, the international rental startup accused by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office of price gouging on rents during the destructive January 2025 wildfires, agreed to pay $1.2 million in fines.
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The May 18 agreement awaits Superior court approval before the City Attorney begins enforcement actions to collect Blueground’s fines.
In the city’s lawsuit against the New York-based landlord of high-end furnished apartments, Blueground was accused of violating California’s anti-gouging law, which prohibits rent hikes of more than 10% after a state of emergency is issued. The civil enforcement action originally filed in February 2026 also noted that the rent increases violated the state’s unfair competition law and city rent stabilization ordinance.
Among the dozen instances of violations cited in last year’s court filing was the case of an apartment unit in downtown Los Angeles that listed for a monthly rent of $2,000 in December 2024, but hiked by 56% to $3,120 on January 7, 2025, then reduced to $2,730 three days later — still 36.5% above the pre-emergency rate.
See more: Fire survivors paying exorbitant rents fall deeper into debt, as LA County price-gouging law is extended
“The January 2025 wildfires were the most unprecedented event in the history of our city, devastating the lives of many Angelenos. Our suit alleged that Blueground not only violated the law, but preyed on vulnerable individuals who had already lost so much,” said L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, whose office filed the charges last year.
The settlement orders Blueground to pay half the penalties by Nov. 6, 2026, and the remainder by May 7, 2027, with $1 million owed to the city and $200,000 to Los Angeles County.
Blueground continues to operate about 600 fully furnished month-to-month rentals in Los Angeles and the surrounding region. The company, which was founded in 2013 in Athens, Greece, but moved its headquarters to New York City in 2017, offers premium furnished rentals around the world, according to Blueground’s website.
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Alex Chatzieleftheriou, founder and chief executive officer of Blueground, continues to deny the city’s claims but said the company has agreed to work alongside Soto.
“To resolve the matter and avoid costly and prolonged litigation, Blueground has agreed to refund renters the city identified as overcharged and pay $1.2 million in penalties,” a company spokesperson said via email. “The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Blueground.”
According to Soto, the company saw the demand for the furnished apartments and raised its monthly rents for survivors of the Altadena and Pacific Palisades wildfires that killed 31 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures and prompted more than 100,000 Angelenos to evacuate their homes.
See more: Rental housing startup Blueground accused of gouging LA fire victims
Soto, who is seeking reelection next month, has two criminal filings and three civil filings pending on other cases claiming price gouging. One of them argues Airbnb allowed for illegal price hikes as well as fraud with hosts offering nonexistent listings.
The biggest alleged price-gouging scheme was brought to light by Soto’s office in March 2025. The City Attorney filed a lawsuit seeking $62 million from a group of individuals and businesses operating “a sprawling illegal multi-million dollar rental property scheme,” which both violated the city’s short-term rental ordinance and involved price gouging during the fires.
The pending settlement with Blueground is the first of these cases that has nearly reached its end.
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