Apartment Industry Leaders Launch Pledge for Action to Restore Los Angeles

California Landlords Unite Against Price Gouging

A group of 15 leading multifamily firms and commercial real estate industry groups have quickly banded together to support residents and rebuild Los Angeles following the devastating wildfires that struck the city the week of Jan. 7, 2025.

The LA Wildfires CRE Pledge for Action is a grassroots initiative focused on meeting the immediate needs of people in affected communities across Southern California and creating a foundation for longer-term restoration. A central focus of the initiative is to fight price gouging by apartment owners, a priority championed by the California Apartment Association.

With tens of thousands of Los Angeles residents displaced following the fires in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and throughout the Los Angeles region, reports of price gouging on rentals for apartment units and single-family homes are creating concern among those seeking short-term housing. California landlords are gathering to combat price gouging and pledging to work with third-party property management companies to ensure that housing is made available to those in need as quickly as possible and without barriers to entry.

Bob Hart, president and CEO, TruAmerica Multifamily, said, “TruAmerica is working with its third-party management teams to ensure that lists of available units are distributed as widely as possible to those impacted by the fires and reducing qualifications like application fees and credit checks, expedited move-ins and reduced deposits in order to get impacted families housed as quickly as possible. I’m calling on other California landlords to commit to doing the same and to pledge against price gouging as our community heals.”

Hart gathered a group of industry leaders for a special episode of his podcast, “Building Better Communities,” to discuss how they are helping Los Angeles recover from the most devastating wildfires in California’s history.

Leading commercial real estate companies started by asking, “How can we help our community?” That quickly materialized into a call to action to “do good,” as they recognized the long-term health of the community requires everyone to collaborate and immediately act to address fundamental needs, while creating solutions for future rebuilding efforts. The California Apartment Association is helping set the stage via the LA Wildfires CRE Pledge for Action.

Tom Bannon, CEO, California Apartment Association (CAA), said, “This call and pledge for action is a relevant, meaningful and actionable initiative focused on restoring the affected communities across Southern California. A critical component to meet the sudden and urgent housing need is getting landlords across the region to commit to fight price gouging. It is encouraging that so many firms have already joined with us in this community restorative endeavor. We urge more firms across the CRE industry to be a part of this vital cause as we contribute to Los Angeles’ resilience.”