Los Angeles sued Airbnb, accusing the home rental company of allowing price gouging affecting at least 2,000 properties during January’s wildfires in Southern California, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said on Friday.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, rental prices rose more than 10% for “at least two thousand—and possibly more than three thousand” Airbnb properties in the city between January 7 and 17.
Los Angeles said the increases occurred before Airbnb disabled its “smart pricing” tool, which lets owners have rental prices adjust automatically based on demand, for Los Angeles