{"id":19126,"date":"2026-07-01T04:03:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19126"},"modified":"2026-07-01T04:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:03:25","slug":"airbnb-to-face-la-lawsuit-alleging-price-gouging-during-2025-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19126","title":{"rendered":"Airbnb to face LA lawsuit alleging price gouging during 2025 fires"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Airbnb must face a lawsuit from the city of Los Angeles alleging price gouging in connection with short-term rentals following the January 2025 wildfires, according to on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Egg producers will pay $3.3M and donate 53 million eggs to settle price fixing claims<\/a><\/p>\n

L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto filed the civil enforcement action against Airbnb last year, alleging the San Francisco-based rental platform illegally increased rental prices for at least 2,600 properties during last year\u2019s conflagration.<\/p>\n

The judge in the case declined Airbnb\u2019s request to dismiss the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The suit\u00a0seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, restitution and other remedies authorized by law.<\/p>\n

Judge Robert Broadbelt of the California Superior Court wrote in the four-page ruling that Airbnb violated a California law that prohibits prices of essential goods and services from rising more than 10% following a state of emergency.<\/p>\n

The judge also wrote that Airbnb advertised and charged unlawful rental prices during the fires based on a tool called \u201cSmart Pricing.\u201d That company\u2019s algorithm automatically adjusts nightly rates based on demand, seasonality and local market data.<\/p>\n

While the company argued that the Airbnb hosts \u2014 or homeowners \u2014 set the prices, the lawsuit alleged that when Smart Pricing is turned on, Airbnb actually sets and advertises the rental prices.<\/p>\n

Read more SCNG journalists honored for news coverage by LA Press Club<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to dispute the inaccurate allegations in the city attorney\u2019s lawsuit,\u201d an Airbnb spokesperson said. \u201cWe have been, and will continue to support the city of Los Angeles in its recovery and rebuilding efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The spokesperson said the judge\u2019s order is \u201ca preliminary step in the litigation\u201d process.<\/p>\n

Since the wildfires broke out, Airbnb said it has contributed nearly $30 million to fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles, including providing more than 75,000 nights of housing to people affected by the fires, plus a $16 million donation to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles to help rebuild and repair homes, according to the spokesperson.<\/p>\n

The January 2025 firestorms in the seaside community of Pacific Palisades and in neighboring Malibu turned to ash more than 23,448 acres, killed a dozen people, destroyed 6,837 structures and damaged nearly 1,000 others before extinguished on Jan. 31.<\/p>\n

In Altadena, the fire burned more than 14,021 acres, killed 19 people, destroyed 9,414 structures, and badly burned another 1,074.<\/p>\n

Read more House GOP deadlocks over Trump\u2019s demands, sending lawmakers home early<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A state judge ruled Tuesday that the city’s lawsuit over wildfire-related price gouging in 2025’s wildfires can move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAirbnb to face LA lawsuit alleging price gouging during 2025 fires - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19126\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Airbnb to face LA lawsuit alleging price gouging during 2025 fires - 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