Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim has accused mercenary landlords of attempting to capitalise on the LA wildfires by ‘illegally’ increasing rental prices.
More than 12,000 homes have been razed to the ground and 37,000 acres of land destroyed as the raging inferno continues to sweep across the southern California city.
And celebrity realtor Oppenheim, 47, best known for his regular appearances on Netflix reality show Selling Sunset, has lashed out at local landlords for overlooking state laws that prohibit people taking advantage of a natural disaster.
Appearing remotely on BBC politics show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, a visibly emotional Oppenheim said: ‘I think it should be exposed, but we’re having landlords taking advantage of the situation.
‘I had a client. We sent him to a house that was asking $13,000 a month. He offered $20,000 a month, and he offered to pay six months up front. And the landlord said: “No, I want $23,000 a month.”‘
He added: ‘There are price gouging laws in California. They’re just being ignored right now, and this isn’t the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it’s also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster.
Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim has accused mercenary landlords of attempting to capitalise on the LA wildfires by ‘illegally’ increasing rental prices
More than 12,000 homes have been razed to the ground and 37,000 acres of land destroyed as the raging inferno continues to sweep across the southern California city
‘I researched the law last night. You cannot charge more than 10% pre-disaster market rates.’
Los Angeles residents have been encouraged to evacuate their homes and strict water saving rules have been imposed as a result of the inferno, which has so far claimed 16 lives.
In total, an estimated 153,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders and about 57,000 structures remain at risk. At least 13 people remain missing, according to officials.
‘I can’t even put words to it,’ said Oppenheim. ‘I never could have imagined that this would have happened here.
‘And maybe that’s naivety on my part. But communities like Altadena, you know, very hard working class areas and these people really lost not just their homes, but their belongings, their clothes.
‘Forget about the $50 to $100 billion of damage that’s caused, it’s emotional for everyone. I mean, I think everyone just has tears and, you know, in their eyes all day long, not literally from the smoke, but also just because it’s emotional to see people struggling like this.’
He added: ‘We are so resilient… we’ll rebuild better and with stronger foundations.’
Several off-ramps to the 405 Freeway including Getty Center Drive, Skirball Center Drive, Sunset, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Olympic boulevards have been closed in order to limit traffic in the West Los Angeles area.
Celebrity realtor Oppenheim ashed out at local landlords for overlooking state laws that prohibit people taking advantage of a natural disaster
Residents of Mandeville Canyon and Brentwood are trying to flee to safety as the Palisades Fire has begun engulfing several celebrity-owned million dollar homes (pictured: Firefighters in Eaton)
According to state authority Cal Fire, there are at least six fires currently burning, with the Palisades fire being the largest.
LA authorities declared a local health emergency overnight for the whole county due to poor air quality, stating that the fires had ‘severely degraded air quality’ that poses ‘immediate and long-term risks to public health’.
As airplanes continue dropping fire retardant in Mandeville Canyon, aiming to create a defensive barrier around homes, federal agents remain on the lookout for fire starters.
Elsewhere there has been understandable fury against ‘wasteful, entitled’ celebrities including Kim Kardashian, who have been accused of squandering vital water resources that could have been used to save homes.
Strict water-conserving measures have been in place since 2022, with ‘ordinary’ residents restricted to watering their gardens twice a week for eight minutes at a time.
Kardashian, who lives in a $60 million house in The Oaks – an exclusive gated community near the epicentre of one of this week’s fires – was fined by city authorities that year for using 232,000 gallons of water more than her allocation.
Other celebrities including Sylvester Stallone and comedian Kevin Hart were also fined.
As thousands of residents in the City of Angels continue to evacuate, multiple drivers on Sunset Boulevard, located south of Mandeville Canyon have reported being stuck in a gridlock
According to state authority Cal Fire, there are at least six fires currently burning, with the Palisades fire being the largest
The Mail on Sunday understands Kardashian has since installed water-saving measures.
A neighbour of the wealthy TV personality told the Mail on Sunday: ‘These celebrities have a sense of entitlement.
‘Everyone was told to cut back on water precisely for this situation, to preserve it to fight fires. They carried on watering because they could afford the fines.’
Anger was also growing at rich people hiring private firefighters for $2,000 an hour to protect their properties.
Chris Dunn, owner of Covered 6, which provides the service to Hollywood’s elite, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘My phone has been ringing off the hook. Demand has never been higher.’
One wealthy source said: ‘This week’s events have shown you can’t trust the city to protect your property. I have the money, so why not?’